About us
In 1988, James Wild set out on a mission being to create a group of singers which could reach a high standard with just three or four rehearsals each year and who love touring. The result - Sine Nomine.
The choir is perhaps unique in that it includes a large number of singers who are themselves conductors, of adult and/or children's choirs. Some have made a name for themselves in their own right, with two former winners of the BFYC "Conductor of the Year" award and many others with award-winning choirs.
The choir sings a very varied repertoire, which includes music to suit all tastes, from sixteenth century motets and madrigals from different countries, through 19th and 20th century part songs, to spirituals, popular items and African repetoire. Sine Nomine has had the great privilege of participating in workshops with Jonathan Rathbone (former director of the King's Singers) and was proud to be asked to record a CD of compositions by Alan Bullard for OUP.
Sine Nomine has undertaken many foreign tours, including Belgium, Norway, Canada, France, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Italy. Whilst in Vaison-la-Romaine in the South of France, the choir performed in an ancient amphitheatre to an audience of over 5000! In 2008 we visited Leipzig and Dresden, and in 2010 we travelled to Krakow in Poland. Sine Nomine has also enjoyed performing at a wide variety of venues throughout the UK, including Dunblane Cathedral, The Sage, Gateshead, the Worcester Three Choirs Festival and the Edinburgh Festival in 2011. The choir is also honoured to have been a guest choir at The Presteigne Festival three times.
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Benjamin Theophilus Martin Kirk (b. 1992)
The third of four boys, Benjamin was born in Beverley, East Yorkshire, to missionary parents. He moved frequently, living in Portugal, Brazil, and the United States. Aged 8, he left his family in Brazil to become first chorister, and later Head Chorister at Ripon Cathedral - and then music scholar at Christ's Hospital School.Benjamin studied Piano, Voice, and Composition at the Junior Department of the Royal College of Music, and after completing his A levels in 2011 Benjamin moved to Tallinn, Estonia, to begin studying Choral Conducting under Tõnu Kaljuste. |
Benjamin is now Musical Director with the Leeds Guild of Singers, and the Lea Singers in Harpenden. After leaving Bath Camerata as MD in July 2024, Benjamin was appointed Conductor with The Purcell Singers and is also Musical Director with The Clerkes of All Saints, York, and the Orlando Singers, Cambridge. Further afield, Benjamin has been Guest Conductor with the National Forum of Music (NFM) Choir in Wrocław, Poland, since 2021.Benjamin's career as a choral conductor began with the Tartu University Female Choir in south Estonia, in 2016. He was selected as a TENSO young conductor in March, 2017, and served as Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of Tallinn Chamber Choir between 2017 - 2019, touring with them in Slovakia in December 2017. After moving back to the UK in 2019, Benjamin won 3rd Prize in the World Choral Conducting Competition in Hong Kong, in July 2019. In May 2021, Benjamin directed his first programme as Guest Conductor with the NFM Choir in Poland, and was delighted to be invited to return and feature as Guest Conductor from the choir's 2022 season. In November 2022 Benjamin prepared the NFM chorus for performances of Szymanowski's Stabat Mater, and Roxanna Panufnik's Faithful Journey: Mass for Poland, directed by Jacek Kaspszyk. Other engagements include conducting The Carice Singers, the Estonian National Male Choir, the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, the Swedish Radio Choir, and in November 2019, le Choeur de Radio France. Benjamin studied for his MA in Choral Conducting at the Royal Academy of Music (2015), before returning to Estonia to earn his MA in Orchestral Conducting by conducting the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, graduating with honours in June 2018. As a choir trainer, Benjamin has prepared numerous choruses for Tonu Kaljuste, Kristjan Jarvi, Kaspars Putnins, Risto Joost, Stephen Layton, George Vass, Martina Batic, and Jacek Kaspszyk. Benjamin has conducted in masterclasses with the Berlin Sinfonietta, the Slovenian Philharmonic Choir, the Berlin Radio Choir, Yale Schola Cantorum, and the BBC Singers. Outside of conducting Benjamin enjoys "Jazz the Two of Us", James Clavell, Aldous Huxley, Hermann Hesse, Joao Gilberto, and playing chess. |
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