Forest Arts Music Hub

Cathy Lamb

Cathy Lamb (www.cathylamborganist.co.uk) is Head of Performance Music at Lichfield Cathedral School, with particular responsibility for ensembles and performances, plus manager and practitioner for the MusicShare Singing Schools Programme (www.lichfieldmusicshare.org.uk) .  Until Easter 2017 she was Director of Music at Lichfield Cathedral alongside her husband Ben (who is now full-time Director of Music).  Her role included directing the Lichfield Cathedral Girl Choristers (a choir she took on from their second year and integrated into the Cathedral's Choral Foundation) and organizing the Cathedral’s exciting singing outreach project entitled ‘MusicShare’, which expanded so much under her leadership that the need to focus on this work led to her new role.  MusicShare won the 2019 TES Independent-State School Partnership Award.  She is also founder/Director of the Lichfield Cathedral Young Voices, which has now expanded to include Youth and Mini sections plus the Ladies who Lark.  Cathy enjoyed guest conducting for Lichfield Cathedral Chorus in their Autumn Term 2016, conducting the second ever performance of Paul Spicer’s Advent Oratorio and again at Easter 2019 when they performed the Verdi Requiem.  Cathy’s roots, however, are as an organist and she has held Organ Scholarships at Salisbury Cathedral and Sidney Sussex College Cambridge and organist posts at Wells Cathedral and Christchurch Priory as well as Lichfield Cathedral.  Cathy’s recital engagements have included many major venues across the country.  She has tutored on several courses for the NCCGB (National Children’s Choir of Great Britain), RCO (Royal College of Organists), Oundle for Organists and the RSCM (Royal School of Church Music – and was awarded the ARSCM for her educational work) and is the main accompanist for Salisbury-based choir, Sarum Voices, and is featured on ten of their CDs.  Cathy has one solo CD recorded on the organ by B.C. Shepherd & Sons at St. Alphage, Burnt Oak (London).  Cathy is proud to be the President of the North Staffs & District Organ Society, on the committee of the Lichfield Area RSCM, Lichfield Area Representative (Cathedral Music Trust) and Trustee on the Board of FOSYM (Friends of Staffordshire’s Young Musicians). 

Adrian Taylor

Adrian Taylor has been working as a professional trombonist, conductor, teacher and composer/arranger in the British Midlands for over 30 years. He is a member of the English Trombone Consort (www.englishtromboneconsort.co.uk) and regularly plays for a number of orchestras, ensembles and bands in the midlands. He teaches Music at Twycross House School, delivering class lessons on the pennywhistle, pBone mini, pBone and pTrumpet, is a brass teacher at Repton School and the conductor of Birmingham Schools’ Wind Orchestra. 

Adrian began playing the recorder at the age of 7 and soon moved on to the trumpet before, at the age of 11, he started playing the trombone. He was an enthusiastic member of several of his county music service ensembles, through which he gained much playing experience and played many important works. Adrian continued his music education at the University of Birmingham, with trombone lessons at the Birmingham School of Music (now called The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire) and would often attend CBSO concerts in the Town Hall, where he would sit in the choir stalls behind the trombone section. Following his graduation in 1989, Adrian remained in the midlands and was fortunate to make a living playing and teaching the trombone, before being given the opportunity to play with the Natal Philharmonic Orchestra in Durban, South Africa, where he remained for two years before returning to the midlands.

Adrian has, since being a young trombonist, had an interest in composing and arranging music and has many of his pieces published by Warwick Music. These include trombone study books, junior band arrangements, trombone quartets and pieces for wind orchestra, with the vast majority of these pieces originally arranged or composed for the groups he played in, his students or the ensembles he conducted.

Edward Lee

Edward was a music scholar at Aldridge School from 1999-2006 with his main instruments being the piano, organ and clarinet.  He attended various orchestras and bands held at Walsall Arena and Arts Centre (formerly Forest Arts Centre) during his school years which he thoroughly enjoyed.  Edward was a church organist for 15 years at St. Matthews Perry Beeches church and has been Pelsall Ladies Choir Accompanist for the last 21 years, a position he took up when he was at school at the age of 14. Edward also accompanies various other singers and choirs in performances at various charity concerts and stage shows within the local area. Music has been such a big part of Edward’s life and he is extremely grateful to Walsall Music Hub who inspired and encouraged him to engage in music, which he still continues to enjoy very much to this day. Edward believes the benefits of engaging in music are endless for all, particularly for our young people and therefore we should encourage engagement in music at every opportunity. Edward is delighted to have been asked to be an adjudicator for the Walsall Young Music Star final and therefore would like to wish all of the WYMS soloists the very best of luck.