Members
“The Eric Clapton of the lute”, Sam Brown is amongst the leading cordophonists of his generation, known for his sensitive style. Originally a student of Sasha Levtov, he trained at the Royal College of Music with Jakob Lindberg, and at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italia with Lorenzo Micheli.
Sam enjoys an international career that has taken him to major venues across Europe, including Wigmore Hall and Konzerthaus Wien, and to China and Kenya. He plays with a number of leading ensembles, and is especially known as an interpreter of lute song. His talks Music, Poetry and the Jacobean Elite and Two Thoughts on Dowland’s First Book have been widely discussed amongst lute enthusiasts.
Sam features on several CD releases from Voces8 Records, Erato and Claudio Records, including the premiere recording of a guitar concerto dedicated to him by Barry Mills. He has also played for theatre and appears on a number of TV and film releases.
Together with Laurence Williams, Sam directs Dowland Youth Works, a world-first lute-song residency aimed at teenagers. He is a deputy teacher at Junior Guildhall and teaches at University of Bath. He plays a 7 course lute passed on from Antony Rooley.
Lute
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Gwendolen Martin studied music at Worcester College, Oxford (where she was a choral scholar) and went on to study singing at Trinity Laban. She now enjoys a career as a soloist and ensemble singer.
Recent highlights include Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas and Gluck’s Orfeo ed Eurydice (The Grange Festival, Harry Christophers), Purcell’s Indian Queen (Opéra Lille, Emmanuelle Haïm), Sweet Ayres of Arcadia recital with lutenist, Din Ghani (Brighton Early Music Festival and Corvedale Festival), recitals for Handel House Talent (Handel and Hendrix in London), recitals with violinist, Maggie Faultless (Music for Awhile) and touring ‘The Leaves Be Greene’ with Chelys Consort of Viols at several of the UK's music festivals.
She has performed and recorded with The Monteverdi Choir, BBC Singers, The Sixteen, The Tallis Scholars, The Gabrieli Consort, Eric Whitacre Singers, Ensemble Plus Ultra, Oxford Bach Soloists, London Choral Sinfonia, La Nuova Musica, London Voices, The King’s Consort and The Marian Consort. Gwendolen is passionate about music education and is a consultant for Southwark Music, training specialist music teachers in primary schools. www.gwendolenmartin.com
Soprano
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Clemmie Franks is a versatile singer who has built up a diverse and extensive range of experience performing and recording as a soloist and ensemble vocalist. One of only sixteen vocalists selected for the Pulse solo vocal ensemble led by Mary King at Southbank Centre in 2009, Clemmie went on to gain a distinction in postgraduate studies at Trinity Laban. Since then, she has sung with London Voices, Audio Network, Britten Sinfonia Voices, London Early Opera, Dowland Works, The Telling and formed her own vocal trio, Voice, with whom she has toured extensively over the last 14 years.
Collaborating across art forms, in theatre settings, and as a backing vocalist is also a passion, and Clemmie has worked with Clod ensemble, Gare St Lazare Players, Turner Prize winners Martin Creed and Laure Prouvost, poet Alice Oswald, Spiritualized, Bobby McFerrin, Bellowhead.
She loves the diversity of music her work allows her to explore - everything from the early notation of Saint Hildegard of Bingen and John Dowland to fresh off the press contemporary music, improvisation, and folk. She believes that music is what makes us human and should be for everyone! www.voicetrio.co.uk/clemmie-franks
Alto
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Originally from Melbourne, Australia, Daniel Thomson is a London based tenor soloist, recitalist and chamber singer. Known for his expressive text-based performance, Daniel’s focus is on historically informed performance of music from the 16th to 19th centuries.
Released in early 2018 - Daniel’s debut solo album Secret Fires of Love, has been featured on BBC Radio 3 programme In Tune with Daniel as a BBC Introducing Artist. It was reviewed by MusicWeb International, listing it as a disc “of the utmost importance ... This disc is the result of much research of historical sources and deserves the attention of every performer ... Monteverdi's Si dolce è'l tormento is one of his most popular pieces, and has been recorded many times ... I am pretty sure that you will have never heard it the way it is sung here by Daniel Thomson.” Johan van Veen, www.musicweb-international.com - February 2019
Daniel is a core member of several groups including Lux Musicae London, InVocare, Sidonia Ensemble, Run and the priory choir of St Bartholomew-the-Great. He has performed as a soloist in various well-known festivals worldwide including the London Festival of Baroque Music, Utrecht Festival Oude Muziek, Brighton Early Music Festival, Meer Stemmig Gent and the MA Festival Bruges. In 2019 Daniel also made his debut solo performance in Wigmore Hall alongside Dame Emma Kirkby for her 70th birthday celebration concert. In 2022 Daniel won the Salvat Beca Bach tenor prize in Barcelona, where he made his debut solo performance in the Palau de la Música Catalana. www.daniel-thomson.com
Tenor
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Bass-Baritone Timothy Dickinson enjoys a diverse career, ranging from recitals across the UK to Operatic roles at Glyndebourne, Scottish Opera, Longborough and elsewhere. Timothy is also very active as an Oratorio soloist, embracing a broad repertoire including Bach’s Passions, the Requiems of Verdi, Faure and Duruflé, and Haydn’s ‘The Creation’.
He has sung with ensembles including The Sixteen, Dunedin Consort, BBC Singers and La Nuova Musica. Additionally, he enjoys a deeply rewarding association with the education department of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, engaging with young people across the country.
In 2021, he released a disc of Christmas-themed English Songs - The Holy Boy: Christmastide in Albion - with pianist Duncan Honeybourne. In 2023 he and Amy Carson founded The Echoing Air, a new ensemble based in the South West of England. www.timothydickinson.com