Musical Team
Musical Director - James Crawshaw BA(Mus)
James began learning the piano at the tender age of three, but it was at boarding school that he discovered his true musical talent. Between the age of 10 and 13, he won the Thanet Music Festival Competition on several occasions, for both Solo Singing and Piano playing. On moving to Repton School in 1961, he was a regular treble soloist in the Chapel Choir and became Head Chorister during the last two years - as a bass baritone! In 1965 he also won the Senior Piano Solo competition and achieved a Merit at Grade 8 for Piano.
During his twenties, James earned a living in a wide variety of jobs while continuing his musical development wherever and whenever he could, including working as pianist/accompanist in bands, clubs, pubs and holiday camps, both in Europe and the UK, then finally as MD/bandleader/pianist and arranger for ten years for the Latchmere Players in Kingston and for the Surrey Actors Workshop review shows.
Marriage, mortgage and a family took precedence for a decade, but then a redundancy offered the chance to retrain as a Music Teacher. James gained a 1st Class Honours Degree in Music from Guildford University in 1996 and a PGCE in Secondary Music teaching at Roehampton Institute in 1997, where he was fortunate enough to study Choral Conducting under Colin Durrant.
James has always found that the most rewarding musical involvement for him is assisting others to enjoy making music.
Since his retirement from classroom teaching in 2011, he has been looking for ways to achieve this.
To date, he has built up a busy practice in private piano tuition in the Dorchester area; he plays the organ regularly for services, weddings, funerals and other special events in various parishes; and he has directed the Joint Benefice Carol Service in Milton Abbey every second year since 2011.
Starting in 2012, James spent 6 years as Music Director of The Weatherbury Singers in Puddletown, putting on two concerts every year and a ‘Come & Sing’ event every two years. In 2016 he also took over as MD for the Blandford Choral Society, putting on a highly successful joint concert with both choirs in March 2017.
He is currently MD (and MC!) for the Bridport Choral Society and the Peoples’ Choir Yeovil and has recently also joined the Encore Singers in Dorchester in the same capacity.
Becky Dudley-Smith
Becky has been accompanist to the People’s Choir for 10 years. It is one of the highlights of her week. She has been playing the piano for over 40 years and also enjoys singing and playing saxophone and clarinet (slightly rustily).
She teaches piano at Leweston and Perrott Hill Schools as well as accompanying some of their choirs.
Becky plays and sings in St John’s Church music group, another highlight of her week, and is part of the newly formed folk trio The Cord of 3.
Committee
The choir is run by a committee led by the appointed chairperson. The committee members have either specific roles or general roles. Specific roles include a treasurer who deals with all the finance and a librarian who looks after the music and orders copies that are required for upcoming concerts.
The chairperson and the committee work together to ensure the choir runs smoothly.
The choir is owned by its members and everyone’s input is important. New ideas and suggestions are always welcome.