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Julian Wright was born and brought up in Oxford, but he has Northumbrian forebears
and his family have been making music in the North East for several generations (he is
the eldest son of the present Bishop of Durham). He is Senior Lecturer in history at
Durham University, and works on French political history.
Julian was a founding member of the National Youth Chamber Choir, and later at Oxford
sang professionally at Christ Church and New College, and the Chapel Royal, St James's
Palace. His solo singing has encompassed roles such as Figaro (Marriage of Figaro),
Guglielmo (Cosi fan tutte) and Ferryman (Curlew River - Britten), as well as a wide
oratorio and lieder repertory.
As an experienced singer, Julian has high aspirations for developing the all-round
musicianship of the Durham Singers. Since his appointment as Musical Director of the Durham
Singers in 2007, he has reaffirmed the choir's strong tradition of a cappella singing,
as well as seeking out new collaborations with composers and visiting conductors.
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Assistant conductor Francesca Massey was educated at Cambridge University and
the Royal Northern College of Music (as an ABRSM Scholar) and was Assistant
Director of Music at Peterborough Cathedral before taking up her current post
as Sub-Organist of Durham Cathedral in September 2011.
At the age of 19, Francesca gained all of the top prizes in the FRCO diploma
and has since been awarded the W. T. Best Memorial Scholarship and Silver Medal
of the Worshipful Company of Musicians, and the Musicians Benevolent Fund's
Ian Fleming Award. She has studied with Jeremy Filsell, Kevin Bowyer,
David Goode, and Andrew Fletcher.
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