Charles MacDougall – Conductor
Charles MacDougall, known equally for his singing and his transformative work with choirs and singers, was appointed director of Finsbury Park Singers in early 2023.
A former member of internationally-acclaimed vocal ensemble VOCES8, he now sings for a number of other ensembles, including Gabrieli Consort and Players London Voices (appearing on numerous film soundtracks) and London Early Opera (including as a soloist on their releases Handel at Vauxhall, Vol.1 & 2, Signum Classics), as well as undertaking solo engagements internationally.
An accomplished choral conductor and vocal coach, he is Chorus Director for Gabrieli ROAR, Vocal Ensembles Coach and Tutor in Vocal Studies at Junior Trinity (Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance) and directs 3 choirs in London. Recent directing highlights include conducting the world premieres of both Errollyn Wallen’s MAP: Songs For Children Everywhere for Britten-Pears Arts in Hull and Snape Maltings, and David Bruce’s Songs of Home for the 25th anniversary of The Voices Foundation at St. John’s, Smith Square. He is extremely active as a workshop leader, presenting sessions for the BBC Singers, UK Choir Festival, Association of British Choral Directors, LSO and Stay At Home Choir.
As an educator, he was part of the team that received the Music and Drama Education Award for Excellence in Primary/Early Years 2018 and he helped devise and deliver the daily Virtual Sing for children on lockdown in 2020. In 2021 he wrote the first volume of Inside Singing, a choral resource for primary school choir leaders, shortlisted for Outstanding Music Education Resource in the Music and Drama Education Awards 2023.
A fierce advocate for the importance of music and music education, he is the Choral Director of Voices Foundation, an Ambassador for Britten-Pears Arts, a Trustee of IntoOpera, and a Director and Trustee of the Choral Foundation, Chapel Royal, Hampton Court Palace.
A fierce advocate for the importance of music and music education, he is the Choral Director of Voices Foundation, an Ambassador for Britten-Pears Arts, a Trustee of IntoOpera, and a Director and Trustee of the Choral Foundation, Chapel Royal, Hampton Court Palace.
Hannah Brine – Founder and Choir Manager
Hannah Brine founded Victoria Park Singers in 2013, not long after she moved to the area. The choir originally rehearsed at the Royal Inn on the Park, and Victoria Park remains Hannah’s favourite part of London.
Hannah’s choirs have performed at events including the Royal Variety Show, Olivier Awards, BBC Proms and TV and recording projects. Shehas led the Wilderness Festival Choir from 2022 and will return again this year. She also leads an annual singing retreat.
Her song Ray of Sunlight was performed by the London Symphony Orchestra’s Discovery Youth Choir and she has been commissioned by the South Bank Centre to compose for Victoria Park Singers.
As a vocal coach, she taught at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, and is an advocate for good vocal health and knowledge.
Recording credits include various releases on Black Hole, Perfecto, Armind, Cafe Del Mar, BBC and Disney. When not leading choirs she loves to write songs – usually in the folk and pop genres, selling out the Buxton Fringe, Pheasantry etc) however her song You & I, written for Ciaran McAuley & Roger Shah, was number one in the global trance charts (2022).
Judith Ogden – Administrator and Hannah’s assistant
Judith grew up in Oxfordshire and studied for a degree in Music at Bristol University, graduating in 1994. She worked for a marketing production company in Bristol, and then for a marketing consultancy in Bath, before becoming a freelance arts administrator, graphic and web designer in 2002. She has appeared as a singing extra in Christmas specials of Call the Midwife and Casualty, and on the soundtrack for TV ads and drama series, as well as on the sci-fi film Annihilation. She is married to the conductor and composer David Ogden, and has four children aged from 17 to 28 years.