Music Director: Benedict Collins Rice
Benedict has performed through Europe and the US (from The Royal Albert Hall to Carnegie Hall), recorded for several labels, for BBC and NBC Television, the BFI, and broadcast on BBC Radio 3 & 4.
Originally from Oxfordshire, he held two conducting scholarships at Cambridge University before continuing his studies with the heads of conducting at the Royal College of Music, Royal Northern College of Music, and Vienna University of Music. He studied for a Master's degree at Birmingham University where, studying under Simon Halsey, he gained the course’s highest-ever conducting mark.
The Façade Ensemble
Benedict is founder and artistic director of The Facade Ensemble, which specialises in 20th-century chamber music. They are currently Ensemble-in-Residence at The Courtauld Institute, and enjoying a reputation for 'razor-sharp' (The Arts Desk), 'first-rate' (MusicOMH), and 'stunning' (Robert Hugill) performances.
As a chorus master, Benedict works across England as the Musical Director of Ipswich Chamber Choir, Bath Bach Choir, Bury Bach Choir, Eye Bach Choir, and the Mid Norfolk Singers. His current choirs attest to his ‘knowledge, style, inspiration, enthusiasm and love of music’, as well as his sense of fun.
He also follows in the footsteps of Holst and Tippett in holding the post of Lecturer & Choir Tutor at Morley College.
As well as chorus mastering, Benedict has worked with the Berlin Sinfonietta, assisted with the BBC Concert Orchestra and conducted the Southbank Sinfonia and British Youth Opera. He was conductor of the West Kent Youth Orchestra for many years, and has been a guest conductor for choirs, orchestras, and opera companies around the country.
As well as performing, Benedict has composed and arranged over a hundred pieces of music for choirs and instrumental ensembles. His most recent sound installation celebrating Calvino's centenary year had a world tour including residencies in Liverpool, California, the Bermondsey Project Space (London), and the Arte Borgo Gallery (Rome).
For more information visit www.facadeensemble.co.uk/bcr-biography
We are thrilled to announce that Benedict accepted a commission to compose a choral work for Ipswich Chamber Choir and we look forward to announcing the date for its world premiere!
"I am delighted to have been asked to write for Ipswich Chamber Choir over this lockdown period, and immediately found myself drawn to the text Hear my Prayer O Lord. I think a large part of this was its sentiment of reaching out in isolation and of a yearning to be connected - emotions which have been felt keenly at the moment by so many. I was also struck by the fact that no matter how many times I heard that single sentence repeated, it never lost its intensity. Whilst the music is not 'about' lockdown in anyway, it is certainly a product of it - long stretches of inactivity and repetition mixed with the occasional burst of energy was an all too natural way to shape the music." - Benedict Collins Rice.
Assistant Music Director: Caroline Finlay
Caroline Finlay studied piano at Colchester Institute with Martin Hughes, specialising in performance and accompaniment. She went on to gain a PGCE from Reading University and continued her post-graduate studies at the Guildhall School of Music with Paul Hamburger and Victor Morris of English National Opera.
She was staff accompanist at Colchester Institute for many years and enjoyed accompanying and coaching a wide range of instrumentalists and singers.
Caroline performs regularly in lunchtime and evening recitals in various chamber ensembles. She was a member of the Vega Trio and currently enjoys performing with her Piano trio. Together with flautist Duke Dobing she performs in venues across East Anglia, recently taking part in the Aldeburgh Festival.
Caroline divides her time between teaching and accompanying, working with many choirs as both accompanist and soloist. She joined the University of Essex Choir as accompanist in 2020, and is delighted to have been appointed Assistant Music Director to Ipswich Chamber Choir in 2023.
