Conductor & Accompanist

Few choirs can have the privilege of being led by such an enthusiastic, talented and inspirational Music Director, Bearsden Choir is exceptionally lucky to be one of these choirs. Andrew’s dynamism and drive are contagious and we are incredibly fortunate that he has been our Musical Director for the last ten years. During this time, and with his outstanding talent, the choir has grown to become one of the best regarded amateur choirs in Scotland. The recent critical acclaim for both live and TV performances are proof of this, and we look forward to continuing to develop our reach and reputation in years to come.

Biography

Andrew graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) with an MMus in Conducting (Distinction) and works extensively with youth and adult choirs across the UK.

In 2018, Andrew was appointed Artistic Director of the National Youth Choir of Northern Ireland, an organisation comprising of five choirs. As Director of Choirs at the RCS Junior Conservatoire, Andrew has developed a choral programme of six choirs, involving over 300 students aged 7-18. The Chamber Choir has regularly appeared on BBC 1 Scotland, with broadcasts in 2017, 2021 and most recently over Christmas 2023.

Andrew has also prepared a children’s chorus for Britten’s Spring Symphonywith the RCS Symphony Orchestra under Garry Walker (2017), as well as choirs for Britten’s Noyes Fluddewith the BBC SSO and Martyn Brabbyns, recorded and broadcast on BBC Radio 3 (2012), RCS Opera productions of Britten’s Owen Wingrave, Weill’s Street Scene, the UK Staged Premiere of Dead Man Walking by Jake Heggie and A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Benjamin Britten, the latter being performed in collaboration with RCS and Scottish Opera. Andrew has also worked extensively with the National Youth Choir of Scotland (NYCOS), most notably conducting in Belgium for events broadcast on BBC 1 & 2 to commemorate the centenary of the Battle of Passchendaele (2017).

Equally experienced working with prestigious adult choirs, Andrew is currently director of the RCS Choir, where he leads the choral programme for undergraduate students. Highlights have included performances of Fauré Requiem, Vivaldi Gloriaand the Mozart Requiem and in 2023 Andrew conducted the RCS Chamber Choir in BBC 1 Scotland’s Christmas recordings. He was Artistic Director of Les Sirènes, the female voice choir that won the 2012 BBC Choir of the Year competition. Since then, they have performed frequently for BBC Radio in collaboration with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and have recorded two commercial CDs.

Since 2014, Andrew has been the Director of Music for Bearsden Choir. Highlights have included performances of Elgar’s The Music Makers and The Dream of Gerontius, the Requiems of Mozart, Verdi, Fauré and Duruflé, Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem and Mendelssohns’ Elijah. The Choir’s 50th Anniversary season also saw him conduct Handel’s Messiah and the great Mass in B Minor of JS Bach. In 2023, Andrew prepared the choir for recording with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra for the BBC 2 Documentary “Michael Tippett, The Shadow and The Light”, broadcast in June 2023 and in November 2023, he conducted the choir in recordings for BBC 1 Scotland.

With a long-standing commitment to music education, Andrew spearheaded the unique Choral Education Project (2016), involving 280 children from schools across Glasgow to perform in Haydn’s Nelson Mass with the Bearsden Choir, professional soloists and an orchestra from RCS. He is also an established Kodaly practitioner, delivering modules at RCS and teaching conducting to RCS Musical Theatre Direction students on the Masters’ programme.

www.andrewnunn.co.uk

Christopher Nickol was a music scholar at Ampleforth College, an organ scholar at Royal Holloway College, London University, and a postgraduate scholar at the Royal College of Music. He is Director of Music at New Kilpatrick Church, Bearsden, a staff member of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and a pianist at the Dance School of Scotland. He is also a regular deputy organist at Glasgow Cathedral and the University of Glasgow.

In addition to playing for Bearsden Choir, Christopher performs as an accompanist and soloist with many of Scotland’s major choirs, including Caledonian Voices, Glasgow Chamber Choir, Glasgow Cathedral Choir and Choral Society, the NYCOS choirs, the RCS Chamber Choir, and the Choir of St. Mary’s Cathedral, Glasgow. He gives organ recitals throughout the UK, in Europe and in the USA. He broadcasts on BBC Radio and TV, and has released six CDs featuring organs in Scotland and Ireland. He is a regular contributor to Kelvingrove Art Gallery’s programme of organ concerts, having given over700 recitals at the museum.

If the title “accompanist” suggests to some that the bearer has a mere supporting role, then it is one quite unsuited to describe Christopher Nickol. His qualifications and experience alone testify to that, whilst his massive contribution to Bearsden Choir can best be summed up in the words of Musical Director, Andrew Nunn:

“The roles of conductor and accompanist have to form a mutually supportive partnership and I am so grateful to be able to work with such a talented colleague as Chris. Not only is he an accompanist and organist of the highest quality, but he is also totally supportive of me both in rehearsals and in my vision for the choir. Chris’s impact on the success and development of Bearsden Choir continues to be huge.”

Away from the piano stool and organ bench, for relaxation Christopher enjoys watching old episodes of ‘Doctor Who’, and listening to progressive rock, ‘The Goon Show’, ‘I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue’ and BBC Radio 4 quizzes, among others.