AOTOS council
Our council is made of up of a number of dedicated members who volunteer their time and expertise to AOTOS, alongside professional careers and busy lives.
Any member of AOTOS can volunteer to join the council
Elections take place at the AGM, and vacancies are advertised in our newsletters. The council are all volunteers; they usually meet four times a year. Please get in touch with [email protected] if you’d like to get involved or find out more about a role.
Our current council members are:
Edwin Pitt Mansfield
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.
Pamela Hay
Chair Elect
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.
Nicola-Jane Kemp
Past Chair
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.
Jan Spooner Swabey
Secretary
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.
Carrie Birmingham
Conference Director
Carrie has been an active performer in ballet and musical theatre from a young age, initially performing in amateur drama and dance showcases across Lancashire.
Janet Shell
Communications Director
Mezzo-soprano Janet is a qualified teacher and was a Head of Music in Buckinghamshire for five years before retraining as a professional singer at Guildhall School of Music Drama, studying with William McAlpine and Laura Sarti.
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.
Sarah Taylor
Central Area Representative
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.
Louisa Barry
South East Area Representative
Mezzo soprano, singing teacher, and vocal coach with over 20 years of experience, Louisa specialises in vocal health and voice habilitation. Her holistic approach serves diverse genres. Fluent in multiple languages, continuously pursues professional development and leads the Honor Oak Musical Theatre Choir.
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.
Kathleen McKellar Ferguson
Scotland Area Representative
Scottish mezzo-soprano, Kathleen, graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) in both piano and singing.
Nicki Kennedy
Councillor At Large – NYC and EVTA
Nicki is a singing teacher, vocal rehabilitation specialist and coach/mentor who herself had a career as a Classical soloist. She has training and qualifications in counselling skills and coaching and is also the founder and a trustee of Aureole Music Charity in Jersey.
Rob Lines
Councillor At Large – Online Coordinator
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.
AOTOS support team
Georgia Barrington
Administrator
Georgia is a freelance editor and online service provider, based in Brighton & Hove. She joined AOTOS in early 2020 shortly before the UK went into lockdown.
Stephanie Blake
Accountant
Stephanie qualified as a Chartered Certified Accountant in 2001 and has worked for a number of organisations in the service sector.
Non trustee positions
Archivist and Almoner
Margaret Hopes