AOTOS council

Pamela Hay

Chair

Polish-American soprano Pamela has been a teacher alongside her performing career for over 15 years. She has been concert soloist with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra and Hallé Orchestra. She has given solo recitals in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Salzburg, Belgium, Costa Rica, Royal Opera House Covent Garden.

Edwin Pitt Mansfield

Past Chair

Originally from West Sussex, Edwin studied at Junior Guildhall and Trinity College of Music. After living and teaching in South East London for nearly a decade, he now resides in Watford where he runs a busy teaching practice.

Carrie Birmingham

Chair Elect

Carrie began teaching in 2009 and is an active researcher with interests in Vocal Health and Hearing Impairments. She launched her own private studio in Liverpool in 2013, holds a position as a VRC in an NHS Voice Clinic, recently joining the Arden School of Theatre teaching on the Vocal Studies degree.

Sarah Taylor

Secretary

Sarah began singing as a child and grew up through County and National Youth Choirs. She started singing teaching in 2011 and now teaches in Secondary Schools and at Nottingham University. Sarah has been a member of the AOTOS council since 2019.

Carrie Birmingham

Conference Director (acting)

Rob Lines

Communications Director

Rob aka The Manchester Vocal Coach specialises in Musical Theatre and CCM styles; regularly working with West End and UK Tour clients, as well as recording artists. Rob is also a Vocal Habilitation Professional working alongside voice clinics.

Joy Naylor

Teacher Development Director

Joy was born in Birmingham and studied at the Royal College of Music, London where she was awarded a number of prizes including an Austrian Government Scholarship to study Lieder at the Mozarteum in Salzburg.

Louisa Morgan

Editor

Louisa is a singing, voice, and audition coach based in the South West. She is a Vocal Process accredited teacher, and joined the AOTOS Council as Editor in 2023.

Julie Thompson

North Area Representative

Julie is a vocal coach, teacher, and Senior Lecturer at Leeds Conservatoire since 2016. Besides her academic role, she is a singer and collaborative songwriter, with experience performing in diverse bands across Europe.

Charlotte Mendly

Central Area Representative

Charlotte is a singer, teacher and choral leader based in Derbyshire specialising in CCM and musical theatre styles. She recently gained a Masters in Vocal Pedagogy and has plans to start a PhD researching the impact of the menopause on the singing voice.

Emily Gray

South East Area Representative

Emily is a mezzo-soprano currently working in roles across Europe. She has been teaching singing to adults for 12 years and has a Masters in Vocal Pedagogy. Emily is working toward a PhD on music teaching standards within the UK.

Jenna Brown

South West Area Representative

Jenna is a vocal health specialist based in Bristol. She is a trained voice rehabilitation specialist, vocal massage therapist and vocal coach.

Fiona Shelfer

Scotland Area Representative

Fiona Shelfer has been teaching singing for over 30 years both in the south of England and now in schools in Edinburgh. She has a thriving private practice and works a lot with musical theatre and acting students. Previously she was singing all over world under the name of Fiona Cameron, winning international competitions singing with Glyndebourne, Kent Opera and Scottish Opera as well as various orchestras.

Laura Thomas

Councillor at Large – Corporates

Jan Spooner Swabey

50th Anniversary Liaison

Settled in Worthing for more than thirty years, Jan has a large private practice of mainly young singers as well as working in her local college at degree level in the Music Theatre department.

Nicola-Jane Kemp

Councillor at Large – Liaison to Chair Elect

A professional soprano soloist, Nicola-Jane teaches choral scholars at Clare College, Cambridge University, and in 2015 was made Head of Singing at Eton College with responsibility for individual lessons and choir coaching.