Suzi Digby
Encyclopedia
Suzi Digby, Baroness Eatwell, (née
: Susan Watts; born 1 July 1958) OBE
is a British conductor, musician and teacher.
where she studied piano and singing. She lived in Mexico and the Philippines, and then spent 12 years in Hong Kong where she had a television series as well as radio broadcasting, teaching and performing.
In 1990 she was awarded a Winston Churchill Fellowship, which she used to travel and study in Finland, Hungary, Canada and the USA, focusing on methods of choral training and music education. She also trained with Péter Erdei, Head of Choral Studies at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest.
In 1993 she founded a national music education charity The Voices Foundation whose methodology is based on that of Hungarian music educator Zoltán Kodály
. The same year, Yehudi Menuhin
appointed her to spearhead the UK branch of his MUS-E project. The Voices Foundation Children's Choir, a multi-ethnic choir comprising children from throughout the UK, has performed at State occasions including the VE Day Head of State ceremony and the first National Holocaust Memorial Day and has toured in Europe.
Ms Digby currently serves as one of the Foundation's 20 advisory teachers and is in charge of its education project in primary schools.
From 1996 to 1998, Ms Digby was musical director of Rosslyn Hill Chapel Choir, and from 1998-2000 director of the Middlesex Bach Choir. In 1998 she launched 'Singing Schools', a 5-year programme in South Africa involving 70 schools in Soweto
and Johannesburg
. More than two hundred African children's song
s have been collected and integrated into the UK programme.
In 2000 Ms. Digby was invited to become a council member of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust
where she serves as Chairman of the arts category. That same year she was shortlisted for a Creative Britain Award. She also founded and directed the award-winning London-based adult chamber choir, Coro.
In 2003 she founded Voce
. She was founding musical director of the infant programme of the Finchley Children's Music Group
and co-founded Music Box, the Bristol based children's opera group.
She is also a conductor
and has performed in the Royal Albert Hall
, St John's Smith Square, St James's Piccadilly and the Royal College of Music
. Abroad, she is guest conductor of St. Stephen's Oratorio Choir, Budapest. She has been a judge for the Coleraine Music Festival in Northern Ireland and Sainsburys Choir of the Year.
Ms. Digby is CEO of arts.works (www.artsworks.uk.com), a company that delivers corporate workshops for clients ranging from Sainsbury's to HSBC, with an emphasis on team building
, active listening, and confident communication. She has also worked regularly with radio and television in the UK and has presented for BBC Wales
TV including The Cardiff Singer of the World competition.
In 2008 she acted as a judge on the BBC
show Last Choir Standing
.
In 2010 she founded Vocal Futures, a foundation that sets out to identify, involve and inspire young people to engage with classical music and in particular large scale choral music, performed in unusual spaces. In November 2011 Vocal Futures will perform the St. Matthew Passion at Ambika P3.
. She was previously married to Henry Noel Kenelm Digby, heir to the 12th Lord Digby. She has two children from her first marriage: Edward and Alexandra.
In 2007 Suzi received the OBE for services to music education.
NEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
: Susan Watts; born 1 July 1958) OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
is a British conductor, musician and teacher.
Background
Susan Elizabeth Digby read music at King's College LondonKing's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
where she studied piano and singing. She lived in Mexico and the Philippines, and then spent 12 years in Hong Kong where she had a television series as well as radio broadcasting, teaching and performing.
In 1990 she was awarded a Winston Churchill Fellowship, which she used to travel and study in Finland, Hungary, Canada and the USA, focusing on methods of choral training and music education. She also trained with Péter Erdei, Head of Choral Studies at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest.
In 1993 she founded a national music education charity The Voices Foundation whose methodology is based on that of Hungarian music educator Zoltán Kodály
Zoltán Kodály
Zoltán Kodály was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is best known internationally as the creator of the Kodály Method.-Life:Born in Kecskemét, Kodály learned to play the violin as a child....
. The same year, Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin, OM, KBE was a Russian Jewish American violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in the United Kingdom. He was born to Russian Jewish parents in the United States, but became a citizen of Switzerland in 1970, and of the United Kingdom in 1985...
appointed her to spearhead the UK branch of his MUS-E project. The Voices Foundation Children's Choir, a multi-ethnic choir comprising children from throughout the UK, has performed at State occasions including the VE Day Head of State ceremony and the first National Holocaust Memorial Day and has toured in Europe.
Ms Digby currently serves as one of the Foundation's 20 advisory teachers and is in charge of its education project in primary schools.
From 1996 to 1998, Ms Digby was musical director of Rosslyn Hill Chapel Choir, and from 1998-2000 director of the Middlesex Bach Choir. In 1998 she launched 'Singing Schools', a 5-year programme in South Africa involving 70 schools in Soweto
Soweto
Soweto is a lower-class-populated urban area of the city of Johannesburg in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for South Western Townships...
and Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
. More than two hundred African children's song
Children's song
Children's song may be a nursery rhyme set to music, a song that young children invent and share among themselves, or a modern creation intended for entertainment, use in the home, or education...
s have been collected and integrated into the UK programme.
In 2000 Ms. Digby was invited to become a council member of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust
Winston Churchill Memorial Trust
The Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts are three independent but related living memorials to Sir Winston Churchill. They are based in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. The Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts are three independent but related living memorials to Sir Winston Churchill. They are based...
where she serves as Chairman of the arts category. That same year she was shortlisted for a Creative Britain Award. She also founded and directed the award-winning London-based adult chamber choir, Coro.
In 2003 she founded Voce
Voce Chamber Choir
Voce is a London-based chamber choir founded in 2003 by Harry Briggs and Suzi Digby.Based in Grosvenor Chapel in Mayfair, the choir is made up of around thirty singers in their 20s and 30s and covers a wide ranging and challenging repertoire of primarily a cappella music...
. She was founding musical director of the infant programme of the Finchley Children's Music Group
Finchley Children's Music Group
Finchley Children’s Music Group is a UK youth choir based in North London for children aged 4 to 18.Finchley Children’s Music Group was founded in 1958 after a group of singers came together to give the first amateur performance of Benjamin Britten’s Noye's Fludde...
and co-founded Music Box, the Bristol based children's opera group.
She is also a conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
and has performed in the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
, St John's Smith Square, St James's Piccadilly and the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
. Abroad, she is guest conductor of St. Stephen's Oratorio Choir, Budapest. She has been a judge for the Coleraine Music Festival in Northern Ireland and Sainsburys Choir of the Year.
Ms. Digby is CEO of arts.works (www.artsworks.uk.com), a company that delivers corporate workshops for clients ranging from Sainsbury's to HSBC, with an emphasis on team building
Team building
Team building refers to a wide range of activities, presented to businesses, schools, sports teams, religious or nonprofit organizations designed for improving team performance...
, active listening, and confident communication. She has also worked regularly with radio and television in the UK and has presented for BBC Wales
BBC Wales
BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation for Wales. Based at Broadcasting House in the Llandaff area of Cardiff, it directly employs over 1200 people, and produces a broad range of television, radio and online services in both the Welsh and English languages.Outside...
TV including The Cardiff Singer of the World competition.
In 2008 she acted as a judge on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
show Last Choir Standing
Last Choir Standing
Last Choir Standing was a 2008 talent show-themed television series produced by the BBC in the United Kingdom. Broadcast on BBC One in July and August 2008, the series saw amateur choirs competing each week to be the 'last choir standing'....
.
In 2010 she founded Vocal Futures, a foundation that sets out to identify, involve and inspire young people to engage with classical music and in particular large scale choral music, performed in unusual spaces. In November 2011 Vocal Futures will perform the St. Matthew Passion at Ambika P3.
Personal life
In July 2006 she married John Leonard Eatwell, Baron Eatwell, President of Queens' College, CambridgeCambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
. She was previously married to Henry Noel Kenelm Digby, heir to the 12th Lord Digby. She has two children from her first marriage: Edward and Alexandra.
In 2007 Suzi received the OBE for services to music education.