People

Joseph Kohlmaier, Director

Joseph Kohlmaier founded Musarc’s Choir in November 2008 and is a member of the ensemble. He is a senior lecturer in the history and theory of architecture at the ASD. Read more about Joseph Kohlmaier here.

Je Ahn, Director

Je Ahn became a co-director of the Musar’c Choir in October 2009 and is a member of the ensemble. He is a director of design company Studio Weave. Read more about Je and Studio Weave here: www.studioweave.com

Esther Waterfield

Esther Waterfield is a qualified architect with a background in architectural exhibitions and competitions. She teaches Architectural History and Theory at the Sir John Cass’s Faculty of Art, Architecture and Design. Esther has been part of Musarc since 2009 and is an alto in Musarc’s choir as well as a member of a musique concrète ensemble, B.A.T.S., that recently premièred at Musarc’s event at Bold Tendencies in July 2012. She co-runs a group architecture blog at www.twohundredwords.co.uk.

Cathy Heller-Jones, Conductor

Cathy Heller-Jones is our conductor.  Born in New York City where she attended the High School of Music & Art, she gained her Bachelor of Music degree at Boston University, followed by postgraduate singing studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Britten-Pears School in Aldeburgh. She studied conducting with Joseph Huszti and Peter Stark.

A full time musician working as a conductor, singer and singing teacher, Cathy is the Director of Music at the Liberal Jewish Synagogue in St. John’s Wood, London where she conducts the Professional, Congregational and Children’s Choirs.  She is also Music Director of the Hertfordshire County Youth Choir. A singing teacher for many years, Cathy is now a member of the Music Faculty at St. Albans High School for Girls where she teaches singing and conducts the Chamber Choir.

As a singer Cathy has been at the cutting edge of contemporary music, performing and recording music by the world’s leading composers including Steve Reich, Kaija Saariaho, John Adams, Louis Andriessen, Brian Ferneyhough and Gyorgy Ligeti.  She has recorded soundtracks for numerous films, working with composers John Williams, Howard Shore, James Horner and Alexandre Desplat.

Phillip Bell, Singing technician

Phillip studied music at the University of East Anglia. After a very successful career as a teacher of music both in East Anglia and then in International Education; working in Athens, Madrid, Frankfurt, and Vienna, he returned to his singing studies in Vienna. He came back to London in 1999 where he now works as a freelance singer and is on staff at Royal Russell School, Croydon, as a singing teacher and member of the Music Department.

He has worked as a soloist with many of the smaller opera companies, travelling to Singapore and Thailand with European Chamber Opera and performing on the QE2 over half the world. He regularly sings in the extra chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. This season he will be singing in over 7 productions which includes over 60 performances. He made his solo debut in the recently BBC4 televised Acis and Galatea and Dido and Aeneas double bill, an acclaimed production with the Royal Ballet.

As a member of the professional group London Voices, his voice can be heard on many film music recordings – including Star Wars and Kung Fu Panda. As an ad hoc member of the BBC Singers he frequently works in the recording studio and concert hall both in UK and abroad. His work for The Maida Vale Singers most recently included a solo role for the Radio 3 broadcast of the Welsh opera ‘Menna’ by Arwel Hughes and the stunning MGM Musicals Prom.