Join Twickenham Choral for a moving performance of Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem in the beautiful surroundings of Holy Trinity Church, Sloane Square. Composed in 1947, this deeply spiritual work blends Gregorian chant with rich harmonies to create an atmosphere of serenity and hope. Unlike more dramatic settings of the Requiem Mass, Duruflé’s version offers a message of peace and consolation. With acclaimed soloists and Rob Fenton’s Ave Verum, this promises to be an evening of profound musical reflection in one of London’s most atmospheric sacred spaces.
Cathy Bell: Mezzo Soprano
Alexander Hopkins: Baritone
Oliver Simpson: Cello
Andrew Lumsden: Organ
Cathy Bell - Mezzo Soprano
Cathy Bell studied English and Medieval Literature at Cambridge and singing at Birmingham Conservatoire. She is a former CREAR Scholar and was a member of Handel House Talent 2014-15. Baroque music continues to be a specialism, with recent solo debuts at the Valletta International Baroque Festival as Venus (Pepusch Venus and Adonis); and as Second Witch (Dido and Aeneas) for both the Academy of Ancient Music and Barokksolistene, Norway.
Cathy particularly enjoys her work as a concert soloist. Highlights include Scarlatti Salve regina at Wells Cathedral; Mendelssohn Elijah at the Royal Festival Hall; Handel Messiah at Cadogan Hall and Nottingham Royal Concert Hall; and Rachmaninov Vespers at St Magnus International Festival in Orkney.
Opera roles include Carmen for Barefoot Opera; Russian Nanny (Death in Venice) for Garsington; Third Lady/Third Boy (Die Zauberflöte) for Diva Opera and the Palestine Mozart Festival; and roles in contemporary operas for Tête-à-Tête, Grimeborn and WNO MAX. Chorus contracts include Scottish Opera, Garsington, Grange Park, Bergen Nasjonale Opera and festivals in Aix-en-Provence and Beijing.
Cathy works regularly with choirs and consorts including the BBC Singers, Sonoro, Polyphony and EXAUDI. She lives in London with her husband Jon Stainsby, also a singer, and their two young daughters.
Alexander Hopkins - Baritone
Alexander started his singing career as a chorister at Westminster Cathedral from 2007, being made head chorister in 2011 and singing on tours, recordings, broadcasts, and televised services. He attended Ampleforth College until 2017, when he started a music degree at the University of Manchester. Having graduated, he worked as a lay clerk at St John’s College Choir Cambridge for two years, after which he moved back to London to embark on a freelance career as a choral singer and soloist. Alexander has since sung for world renowned choirs such as Tenebrae and Westminster Abbey Choir, performing in high profile events including the coronation of King Charles III.
As a soloist, he has performed on recorded projects for Westminster Cathedral Choir and St John’s College Choir, along with step out solos at venues such as the Barbican, Royal Festival Hall, and more recently Greyfriars Kirk and The Duke’s Hall in a performance of Purcell’s ‘Hail! Bright Cecelia’ with members of the Dunedin Consort conducted by John Butt. He has also sung roles in Opera, such as La Traviata, La Bohème, L’elisir d’amore, and in 2022, Count Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro.
In 2020, he co-founded Coro Spezzato, a choir with aims to promote new composers and give a platform to young professional singers. Alexander is also a composer, having had multiple choral works broadcast on BBC Radio 3, along with music commissioned, performed, and recorded by St John’s College Choir.
Since September 2024, Alexander has been studying for a Masters in vocal performance at the Royal Academy of Music, where he won First Prize in the 2025 Schumann Lieder Competition.
Oliver Simpson - Cello
Oliver Simpson is a British-Cypriot cellist based in the UK.
Praised for his beautiful tone, exceptional virtuosity, and joy in performing, Oliver is deeply passionate about communicating through his cello his love and enjoyment of the music in every performance.
Oliver made his concerto debut aged 14, playing Dvořák’s Cello Concerto, and he has won many prestigious national and international competitions. His exceptional ability led to advanced study at Kronberg Academy, Germany where he participated in the prestigious public Cello Masterclasses with Philippe Muller in 2024. As an LPO Junior Artist 2021/22, he performed solo with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall.
Oliver has established himself as a versatile artist across multiple disciplines.
As an experienced concerto soloist, his recent performances include major works with leading orchestras – Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C with the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, Elgar’s Cello Concerto with both Newbury and Reading Symphony Orchestras, Dvořák’s Rondo with St. John’s Chamber Orchestra, Saint-Saens’ First Cello Concerto with the Abingdon Symphony Orchestra, and Shostakovich’s powerful First Cello Concerto with Windsor & Maidenhead Symphony Orchestra.
Oliver enjoys undertaking an extensive programme of recital performances, having performed recent recitals at the Elgar Room, Royal Albert Hall, Jaqueline du Pr. Concert Hall, Oxford and Milton Court, Barbican.
He has a deep love of chamber music and feels joy in collaborating with likeminded musicians. Recent highlights include performances with both the Villiers Quartet and the Castalian String Quartet of Schubert’s String Quintet in the Holywell Music Room, the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective in the Sheldonian, Jess Gillam in Wilton’s Music Hall, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in the Sheldonian, and the Mendelssohn Octet at Buckingham Palace.
Oliver has upcoming performances of a period instrument solo cello concerto with Bojan Čičić and the Instruments of Time and Truth, a recital in the Holywell Music Room, Haydn’s Cello Concerto in D in Bristol, a tour to Cyprus, and a recital series tour on the East coast of the United States of America, including Washington DC and New York City.
Oliver is proud to be a Beare’s International Violin Society artist.
YouTube: @olliecello
Howard Ionascu - Conductor
After a degree in music at Manchester University, Howard’s diverse career began as a professional singer in Wells Cathedral Choir, performing on many recordings, broadcasts and international tours.
Choral conducting began in 1997 when he founded The Laudate Choir, which continues to perform regularly in venues across the south east of England. Howard is also Musical Director of the Exeter Philharmonic Choir.
Past conducting roles have included Bournemouth Sinfonietta Choir, Finchley Children’s Music Group Trebles Choir and The Esterhazy Singers of London. Howard is also in regular demand as a guest rehearsal conductor, and in recent years has worked with Choir of the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, Orlando Chamber Choir, City of London Choir, Rodolfus Choir, Guildford Choral Society, Winchester Philharmonic Choir and on Eton Choral Courses.
Howard has conducted a number of the leading UK orchestras and ensembles, including Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, London Mozart Players, English Chamber Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia, New London Orchestra and Onyx Brass.
Howard has a long association with music education, having led departments at some of the UK’s finest educational establishments and directed the choirs at Winchester College, King’s Canterbury and Junior Royal Academy of Music.
