About us

Having been Assistant Director of 2 choirs based in Preston and Manchester, he joined the Cottontown Chorus in Bolton as Musical Director in 2007 and went on to become their front line Chorus Director. In 2008, with Neil at the helm, the chorus won 2 major UK competitions and were named the BBC Radio 3 Adult Choir of the Year. In 2009, the chorus became European Silver Medallists for a second time and British Chorus Champions for a third time. In 2011 and again in 2013 under Neil’s leadership, the chorus became British Champions for a fourth and fifth consecutive time – a record never before achieved in the UK.

In 2016, the chorus became British Champions for a sixth time, achieving the second highest score ever in the UK, in its 42 year history. Under Neil’s leadership they became UK Champions for a seventh time in 2018.

Neil himself has performed in front of many large audiences at a number of prestigious venues throughout the UK, Europe and USA, including venues in Germany, Holland, The Symphony Hall in Birmingham, The Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, The Royal Festival Hall, The Royal Albert Hall, The London Palladium and The MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Throughout his musical career, Neil has worked in retail management and the financial services industry and has seen first hand how people’s voices and nerves can let them down during important presentations and meetings. He could clearly see that vocal training would help people build their confidence and project clearly and went on to translate his successful vocal training techniques and exercises into a corporate training and team building programme.

The Vocal Group offers bespoke corporate courses to companies in all industries, working with all levels of personnel, from trainees right through to management teams. We can tailor anything from a 1 hour workshop to a 2 day off-site programme. While workshops are generally for group sizes of between 8-40 participants, conference sessions can run with any number of participants.

While designed to take people out of their comfort zone in order to harness their nerves, the courses are friendly, inclusive and ultimately enjoyable, teaching techniques in an innovative and memorable way. As well as giving participants a professional edge, the techniques can be applied across all aspects of their lives and have important health benefits too, such as lowering blood pressure and reducing stress.