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:
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.
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