Cathy Lamb (Choir Director)

Cathy is joint Director of Music at Lichfield Cathedral alongside her husband, Ben Lamb. Part of her role includes Directing and organizing the Cathedral's exciting outreach project entitled MusicShare, which is funded by Sing Up. This initiative involves taking the Lichfield Cathedral Choristers and members of the Lichfield Cathedral Girls’ Choir out into local schools to share their music-making. Each term then culminates in large joint concerts in Lichfield Cathedral. In addition to this role Cathy directs the Lichfield Cathedral School Girls’ Choir — a specialist, scholarship-based choir for girls at the school. She also founded the Lichfield Cathedral Young Voices in December 2007 — the Cathedral's Saturday morning choir for 8-13 year olds in the area.

Her former roles have included working with the Cathedral Choirs of Salisbury and Wells and the founding of a girls’ choir at Christchurch Priory in Dorset. She also ran the Bournemouth Symphony Youth Chorus. She studied Music at Cambridge where she was Organ Scholar at Sidney Sussex College — a role which involved directing and running the choir.

Cathy is increasingly in demand as an animateur, teacher and director for education-based projects for organizations such as the Royal School of Church Music and Oundle for organists. Though most of Cathy’s current work is as conductor, motivator and director she has not forgotten her roots as an organist and continues to play regularly for Cathedral services and at many of the major venues across the UK.

Martyn Rawles (Accompanist)

Martyn began his musical training as a chorister at St. Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, subsequently taking up the organ with Anthony Pinel. He was awarded the Burston Organ Scholarship to St. Catharine’s College, Cambridge, where he read History, also serving in his final year as Assistant Organist at the church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs. Martyn moved to Gloucester Cathedral as Organ Scholar for two years, working with the cathedral choirs and other local ensembles, before his appointment as Assistant Organist at Winchester College. During his time at the College he gained his FRCO, winning the Durrant, Baker, Harding and Limpus prizes. In September 2007 he returned to Gloucester for a term as Acting Assistant Director of Music, accompanying the cathedral choir, directing the Cathedral Youth Choir, and appearing on BBC Radios 2, 3 and 4.

His work at Lichfield includes working with the Cathedral Choir and Cathedral School Girls’ Choir, accompanying the Cathedral’s Special Choir (choral society), and involvement with other local ensembles, such as Ex Cathedra, the Birmingham Bach Choir and the Lichfield Festival Chorus. In 2008 he was awarded a Silver Medal by the Worshipful Company of Musicians. He is a busy solo recitalist – recent concerts have included Gloucester, Bristol, Southwark, Hereford and Portsmouth cathedrals, Cheltenham Town Hall, St. Patrick’s Cathedral NYC, St Nicholas’ Church, Amsterdam and the Bavokerk, Haarlem.

Kate Alcock (Choir Matron)

After 21 very happy years at Lichfield Cathedral School I found myself with time to become involved with MusicShare, something I had always wanted to do. I chaperone our Choristers during the school visits and welcome the school parties when they arrive at the Cathedral for the ‘Big Concert’.

The spin-off of Young Voices is a double bonus for me (I feel rather like a proud grandparent). It's exciting to watch the children grow in confidence, make new friends and enjoy their singing. How could they fail with the dazzling duo, director Cathy Lamb and Martin Rawles?