Beverley grew up singing with her sisters, learning songs in three-part harmony. Their first public performance was in the late ‘80s, when they were hired to sing together. Beverley then joined the local church choir, where she trained in the Anglican choral tradition, singing in cathedrals from York Minster to Westminster Abbey and even at the Royal Albert Hall. After completing her BA Hons in Music at Exeter, Beverley returned to the choir and became the Musical Director. This marked her first professional conducting role, with highlights such as directing Nine Lessons & Carols services, taking the choir to sing Evensong at Worcester Cathedral, and conducting Fauré’s exquisite Requiem.
Having achieved Distinction in Grade 8 Voice and Distinctions in Grade 7 Piano and Clarinet, Beverley was keen to further explore her singing during university. She joined the sixteen-voice Renaissance choir, Cantors, which gave her valuable experience in small ensemble singing. With them, she recorded two CDs, and the group gained acclaim in the south-west. Beverley now enjoys occasionally returning to sing with them in London and beyond.
After graduation, Beverley became a secondary Music teacher in Birmingham and Rugeley and taught peripatetic music across Staffordshire. While working for Staffordshire Performing Arts, she served as the Soprano Tutor for the county choir, ran the county Girls’ choir, and became the County Lead for Sing Up, delivering training to teachers on leading singing in schools. Beverley then headed the large-scale Rugeley Music Partnership, bringing together local schools for performance projects in collaboration with the Manchester Camerata and violinist Tasmin Little. This culminated in her conducting a massed children’s choir at Birmingham Symphony Hall. She remained a teacher for 22 years, teaching students of all ages, from Reception to A-Level, organising many concerts and shows, and taking pupils on European tours to Disneyland Paris and Bruges.
During this time, Beverley joined the world-acclaimed Ex Cathedra choir in Birmingham. She loved the opportunity to sing with world-class musicians and orchestras, from performing Rachmaninov’s Vespers in London and Birmingham to Bach’s B Minor Mass with a full-scale Baroque orchestra in Lyon.
Currently, Beverley runs her own all-female a cappella vocal group, VocaBella. The award-winning group was a finalist in the 2024 Midlands’ Choir of the Year competition and is approaching its ten-year anniversary. Beverley also arranges much of the music the group performs, taking original songs and rewriting them for just voices. As a published arranger, her work is sold and performed worldwide.
Beverley has been a Rock Choir Leader since 2022, and she loves it. Her favourite part of teaching has always been running school choirs, and now she gets to do that six times a week with her wonderful, enthusiastic members. Since starting, Beverley’s choirs have participated in the ‘You’re the Voice’ tour at Warwick Arts Centre, recorded at The Glasshouse International Centre for Music in Gateshead, and are looking forward to their debut at the Edinburgh Fringe this August. It has been an amazing three years, and Beverley can’t wait to see what the future brings!
