Who We Are

Committee Members

Steve Hulbert
Chair

Steve Hulbert
Steve joined Sitwells in 2018 after moving back fo Derbyshire following a 33 year sojourn in the south. His interest in singing started as a child when he sang in the church choir at Frecheville in Sheffield. Later he sang at the Schools Proms in London and also at Winchester and Coventry Cathedrals whilst in a choir in Hampshire. He has also sung in musical theatre groups and he is very happy to have joined a choir that now provides a good mix of sacred and secular repertoire.

Rachel Reid
Concert Secretary

Rachel Reid sitwell singers
Rachel is our concert secretary. She is the main point of contact for the choir’s concert advertising, and the driving force behind concert organisation. As a town planner, Rachel was born to organise, and chooses to relax by running and singing in her spare time, sometimes at the same time.

Richard Miller
Members’ Secretary

Peter smith sitwell singers
Richard is our Members’ Secretary. Now retired from the law, Richard started his music in church choirs and then at university, later spending many years treading the amateur musical theatre boards, initially in East Yorkshire and subsequently in Derbyshire, having moved south in 1995. He now loves singing with this excellent chamber choir. Beyond singing, he enjoys photography and playing piano and guitar.

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Musical Director

DexterDexter Drown

Dexter Drown is an imaginative and versatile conductor who has been praised for his utterly magical performances of passion, confidence, and flair.
This season, alongside his work as assistant conductor of The Sinfonia Stellaris – with whom he has been appointed conductor for the 23/24 season – Dexter has worked with musicians from the Orchestra of the Swan on premiere recordings of new works, led concerts with contemporary music ensemble The Hadit Collective, and makes his debut with the Midland Sinfonia. As well as his work with professional orchestras, Dexter is joining the Leicester Symphony Orchestra for a concert in the De Montfort Hall.

Despite his passion for Orchestral music, Dexter is a distinguished and inspiring choral conductor and choir trainer. He has worked as chorus master for conductors including Sir Karl Jenkins, Toby Purser, and George Jackson in some of the UK’s most prestigious venues, such as The Bridgewater Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, Usher Hall, and St David’s Hall. Dexter also conducts the East Oxford Community Choir and Orchestra and is on the faculty of the Chester Choral Week, sharing his love of choral music with singers across the country.
Dexter is the Musical Director of two award winning chamber choirs – The Sitwell Singers and The Derwent Singers – with whom he has conducted performances of a broad and challenging repertoire ranging from Rachmaninov’s All-Night Vigil to Kenny Wheeler’s Sweet Time Suite.

Proud of his imaginative and thoughtful programming, Dexter is a champion of brilliant music by unjustly neglected composers, and he frequently collaborates with composers to showcase the best music of today. Recent premieres include Phillip Matty’s Opera Jabberwocky, Aidan Teplitzky’s Escapism, and a studio recording of Julien Durand’s Awakening of the Voice.

As an assistant conductor Dexter has worked with Ben Palmer, Nicholas Braithwaite, Michael Seal, Paul Wingfield, Fraser Golding, and Jeffery Skidmore on projects ranging from Baroque Opera at the Warwick Festival to recordings of new music, played on the BBC.
As passionate about learning as he is about music making, Dexter has been fortunate to participate in Masterclasses with Kazuki Yamada, Nicholas Collon, Paul Murphy, Peter Stark, Kenneth Keisler, and Daniel Bortholossi.

Deputy Conductor

David HenshawDavid Henshaw

David enjoys conducting and singing, both in choirs and as a soloist. He conducts Derby Hospitals Choir, is Show Musical Director for Melbourne Operatic Society and Organist & Choirmaster at St. Peter’s Church, Chellaston. He has sung many operatic and Gilbert and Sullivan rôles and also sings with the Loughborough-based groups Concorde and operaHouse.
His second hobby is mending things.