Guy Middlemiss

Additional Info:

When I was a undergraduate at York University I took sectional rehearsals for the University Choir, both conducting with a rehearsal pianist and directing from the piano. The works I rehearsed included the Negro Spirituals from A Child of our Time (Tippett), Belshazzar's Feast (Walton), Vesperae solennes de confessore (Mozart), Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven) and Elijah (Mendelssohn).

After leaving university in 1987 I spent 3 months working through a number of operatic vocal scores, mainly core repertoire: Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail, Don Giovanni, Cosi fan tutte, Die Zauberflote, Fidelio, Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor, Lucia di Lammermoor, Tristan und Isolde, Il trovatore, Aida, Otello, La boheme, Madama Butterfly, Carmen, Die Fledermaus, The Bartered Bride & Eugene Onegin.

In 1989-90 I studied singing with Elizabeth Hawes (Trinity College of Music).
I have sung in a number of choirs including the BBC Symphony Chorus (including the Proms seasons 1989-90), the Endellion Festival Chorus (1990), the Holst Singers (John Tavener’s 50th birthday concert, Barbican Centre, 1994) and Amici Coro (including services in Westminster, Rochester & Southwark Cathedrals, 2010-present).

From 1991-4 I was piano accompanist at the London College of Music & Media for singing masterclasses. This mainly covered German Lieder and French songs but also covered one-off rehearsals on single works (e.g. Amahl and the Night Visitors) and one-off summer masterclasses for non-students.

I have coached singers and instrumentalists for various dramatic productions for which I have been Musical Director. These productions have mainly been musical theatre and plays with incidental music. Since 2000 these have included:

The Pirates of Penzance (Barnes & Richmond Theatre Company) (2000).
Nicholas Nickleby (RSC version) (Questors Theatre) (2003) – CD of pre-recorded music & DVD available on request.
Animal Farm (Sutton Amateur Dramatic Club) (2007).
Funny Girl (Wallington Operatic & Dramatic Society) (2008).
Some Enchanted Evening (Lyric Players) (2008).
The Railway Children (Avalon Theatre Company) (2009).
Lark Rise (Sutton Amateur Dramatic Club) (2009). This involved arrangements of folksongs and composition of original music – copies available on request.
The Pajama Game (Wallington Operatic & Dramatic Society) (2010).
The American Way (2010), Opposites Attract (2011), Let’s Go to the Movies (2012) - themed revues with the Younger Generation Theatre Group involving arrangements of pop/show/film music. Performance DVDs, copies of arrangements and NODA review of the 2011 show available on request.
Deadly Sins (Opera Foundry) (2013). Excerpts from operas from Mozart to Britten.
Don Giovanni (#OperaCo, Edinburgh) (2013). Concert performance with piano.*
The Pirates of Penzance (Oxted Operatic Society) (2014). With orchestra.
Opera Obsession (Opera Foundry) (2014). Opera excerpts with piano.
Il trovatore (#OperaCo, London) (2014). Concert performance (including chorus) with piano.*
Tosca (#OperaCo, Manchester) (2014). Workshop performance (including chorus) with piano, directed by Alessandro Talevi.*
Carmen (Harrow Opera) (2015). Conducting the choruses and ensembles of a staged performance with piano.
Mozart opera excerpts (Opera Foundry) (2015).
Don Pasquale (Apollo Opera, Ludlow Fringe Festival) (2015). Semi-staged performance with piano.*
Albert Herring (Harrow Opera) (2016). Fully staged, with piano.
Don Pasquale (Apollo Opera, Peterborough & Milton Keynes) (2016). Semi-staged performances with piano.*
Into the Woods (Creative Minds Academy) (2017). Staged performance with piano - children's cast.*
24-Hour Musical - Anything Goes (Creative Minds Productions) (2017). Preparing a show in 24 hours, ending in a fully-staged performance with instrumental ensemble.
Ordinary Days (Creative Minds Productions/Lighted Fools) (2018). Staged performances with piano.*
The Wedding Singer (Lost for Words) (2018). Staged performances with band.
24-Hour Musical – Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Creative Minds Productions) (2018). Preparing a show in 24 hours, ending in a fully-staged performance with instrumental ensemble.
Faust (Brent Opera) (2019). Fully staged, with piano.*
Less Miserable (New Aquarian Opera) (2021). Staged performances with piano.*
The Merry Widow (New Aquarian Opera) (2022). Staged performances with chamber ensemble.
The Marriage of Figaro (New Aquarian Opera) (2023). Staged performances with chamber ensemble.

*I provided the solo piano accompaniment for these performances.

I have been rehearsal/audition pianist and pit-band keyboard player for a number of dramatic societies in London and elsewhere over the last 20 years. This has focused on operetta and musical shows: Trial by Jury, The Sorcerer, HMS Pinafore, Princess Ida, Yeoman of the Guard, Ruddigore, The Grand Duke, Utopia Ltd, Orpheus in the Underworld, La Belle Helene, The Arcadians, The Boy Friend, Divorce Me Darling, Kiss Me Kate, South Pacific, Fiddler on the Roof, A Little Night Music, Into the Woods, Follies, Grease, Cowardy Custard, Chicago. However, it has also included classical repertoire: Dido and Aeneas, Die Zauberflote.

I have accompanied singers and instrumentalists at recitals, revues, examinations, competitions, recordings, weddings, etc.


Qualifications:

Degree:
University of York B.A. Music 2.1 (1987)

Associated Board Grade 8 Distinctions in flute (1980) & piano (1983)


A-Levels:
French A
German A
English B
Music B

S-Levels:
German 2
English 2

As a result of piano masterclasses in which in I participated with the concert pianist Bernard d’Ascoli in 1999-2000 I received a reference from him – copy available on request.

In 2001 I attended the London College of Music & Media’s part-time Art of Teaching Singing course – copy of final dissertation and lecturer’s comments available on request.

Fees

£ 50.00 Pounds Per Hour

Instruments

Piano, Electronic Keyboard

Specialisms

Instrumental Accompaniment, Vocal Accompaniment, Vocal Repetiteur, Musical Theatre, Musical Direction