People

Freddie maintains a busy musical career as an ensemble and solo singer, conductor, arranger, educator and artistic director.

As an ensemble singer he has performed with choirs including The Sixteen, London Voices, Philharmonia Voices, Oxford Bach Soloists, The Carice Singers and Echo, with highlights such as Tallis’s Spem in alium at the BBC Proms with The Sixteen. He is an alumnus of both the Genesis Sixteen and National Youth Choir Fellowship programmes.

As well as being the Founder & Director of the Whiddon Autumn Festival, Freddie is Director of vocal ensemble Corvus Consort, whose latest album on Chandos Records was described as "dazzling" by BBC Music Magazine, who also named it one of their "13 best albums of 2024".

As an educator Freddie frequently delivers singing workshops in schools around the country, with a particular focus on state schools whose music provision is limited, often working as part of the Learning & Engagement teams for The Sixteen and the National Youth Choir.

Freddie grew up in the North-Dartmoor village of Gidleigh, singing as a chorister in Exeter Cathedral. He went on to graduate with a prize-winning Music degree from Merton College, Oxford, where he also held a choral scholarship, sang in jazz a cappella group The Oxford Gargoyles and made frequent musical theatre appearances.

On first moving to London, he pursued careers in both the music and coffee industries, working for a while at Monmouth Coffee Company. Freddie now lives in Islington, but can be found in the depths of Dartmoor whenever he has the chance.

Jack was raised in Norwich and Oxford and read a music degree at the University of York. After graduating from university, he worked as a specialist music researcher for music television, and had a hand in making documentaries about Bernard Haitink, Sir Michael Tippett, and Queen Elizabeth II, as well as being Lead Researcher for the 2021 season of the televised BBC Proms. Jack works as Concerts Manager for Tashmina Artists, and is also highly in demand as a freelance Tenor, singing regularly with Corvus Consort, Tenebrae, and Collegium Vocale Ghent, among others. He records film and video game soundtracks with London Voices and was an Apprentice of the Monteverdi Choir & Orchestras 2023-24. Opera roles include Lucano / Soldato pretoriano I / Famigliare in Monteverdi L'incoronazione di Poppea (HGO), Purcell The Fairy Queen (HGO), and Trojan Soldier / Chorus in Berlioz Les Troyens (Monteverdi Choir, winner of Best Chorus at Oper! Awards 2024). In 2026 he joins Kantos Chamber Choir to make his debut with English National Opera in Du Yun Angel's Bone.

Ellie Stamp is a London-based mezzo-soprano who began her musical studies at the Junior Department of the Royal College of Music. She participated in the 2018-19 Genesis Sixteen programme for young singers before attending the University of York, where she graduated with first-class honours and was awarded the John Paynter Prize in music. Ellie has since worked with professional choirs across the UK including a graduate scholarship with Ex Cathedra, and was the first female lay clerk with the Choir of New College, Oxford. As a soloist, Ellie has enjoyed performing in a wide range of works, from Bach's St John Passion and Pergolesi's Stabat Mater to modern premieres with contemporary groups like Standard Issue and The Lontano Ensemble. She is set to begin her Master’s studies at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in September 2025.

Sumei is a soprano in demand as a soloist and choral singer across the UK and abroad. She is a recent graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge, studying Modern Languages alongside a choral scholarship.

Sumei is a Philip and Dorothy Green Young Artist ’25/’26, and was a Brighton Early Music Festival Emerging Artist ’24/’25 and Sestina Next Generation Young Artist ’24/’25. Recent and upcoming solo highlights include Mozart's Mass in C Minor, Exsultate Jubilate, Solemn Vespers for a Confessor, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Filia in Carissimi’s Jephte, Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610, Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s St John Passion, St Matthew Passions and Mendelssohn’s Psalm 42. Her operatic roles include Eurydice in Orphée aux enfers, Adele in Die Fledermaus, Lucia in The Rape of Lucretia, Belinda in Dido and Aeneas and Cupid in Venus and Adonis.

Equally at home on the choral platform, Sumei is a member of Chamber Choir Ireland, and works with groups including The Tallis Scholars, Arcangelo, BBC Singers, Polyphony, The English Concert, VOCES8 Foundation, Cambridge Singers, London Choral Sinfonia, SANSARA, The Carice Singers, Corvus Consort, Recordare Chamber Choir and Ensemble Altera.

Izzi Blain is a freelance musician based in London, specialising in ensemble singing.

Izzi grew up in St Albans, and was a chorister at St Albans Cathedral. After 3 years as a choral scholar at Merton College, Oxford, she was selected for the Genesis Sixteen young artists programme. She performs with groups including the BBC Singers, London Voices, The English Concert, Corvus Consort, SANSARA, The Carice Singers, Echo and Shards, and sings frequently in many of London’s leading church choirs. Izzi was in the cast for Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti as part of Grimeborn Festival at the Arcola Theatre.

Outside of music Izzi works as a gardener around London. She has a Master’s degree in Social Anthropology from SOAS and has worked in the charity sector promoting arts education in deprived primary schools. Izzi loves being part of WAF both as a performer and as a member of the festival team!

Ailsa Campbell is a soprano from Northumberland who began her singing career at the age of nine in the Hexham Abbey Girls’ Choir. During her undergraduate studies, she was appointed the first female Choral Scholar at Bristol Cathedral. She went on to complete a Master’s degree in Solo Voice Ensemble Singing at the University of York, graduating with distinction.

She was a member of the NYCGB Fellowship Programme (2018-19) and a VOCES8 Scholar (2022–23). Ailsa regularly sings with the Choir of the Chapels Royal, HM Tower of London, St Martin’s Voices, Corvus Consort, and Shards, and appears as a deputy with VOCES8. She also works frequently with ensembles including Huelgas Ensemble (Antwerp), Siglo de Oro, and I Fagiolini, and enjoys regular recording work for film and contemporary music.

As a musical director, she leads the VOCES8 Scholars Ensemble, which tours widely throughout the UK and Europe and South America. She is also the co-founder of the “feral” vocal consort The Lyons Mouth, renowned for its emotionally charged performances and imaginative programming.

Ailsa has previously held numerous social media roles, working for Corvus Consort, I Fagiolini, composer Joanna Marsh, St Martin-in-the-Fields and Stour Music Festival. She is delighted to return to the WAF team in 2026!

George is a freelance baritone based in London. He studied Music at Durham University, where he was also senior choral scholar at Durham Cathedral. Afterwards George became an academic Music teacher for two years, at Oakham School, where he was also a choral scholar at Peterborough Cathedral, and Ipswich School respectively. He is a graduate of the Genesis Sixteen and National Youth Choir Fellowship schemes, having performed all over the country and now does education work for both companies.

Now in London, George sings at St Martin-in-the-Fields with St Martin’s Voices, who recorded online content for the CofE through COVID, as well as their own concerts. George has sung with many ensembles including the Gabrieli Consort, Royal Hospital Chelsea Chapel Choir, St Bartholomew the Great Choir, and St Martin’s Voices. He also sings for London Voices, who are a session choir for film and game soundtracks, concerts and recordings. Alongside his singing career, George wants to inspire the next generation of singers and is the Choral Animateur for St Paul’s Cathedral, doing classroom singing teaching in four primary schools in Hackney, as well as being Assistant Director of Hackney Children’s and Senior Choir.

Originally from Bolton, Lancashire, Hannah is passionate about supporting young people in music, and conducts the two youngest choirs at Finchley Children’s Music Group, as well as managing and co-directing Highbury Youth Choirs.

She is the creative lead on Tenebrae’s Primary Education programme, and provides training for professional and student groups on how to run singing workshops for children. She is also a singing teacher at Highgate School.

She frequently works as a music team member on residential courses including Gabrieli ROAR, the Rodolfus Foundation and the National Youth Choir, for whom she also runs singing workshops.

As a singer, Hannah performs with some of the country’s leading choirs, including Tenebrae, ORA and the Gabrieli Consort. Hannah writes for children’s voices, and specialises in songwriting workshops for primary-aged children. She has led songwriting projects for Westminster Cathedral Outreach, Rosehill Theatre, and Tenebrae Schools, and her original songs have been performed by groups such as London Youth Choir West, Cantate, and the Diocese of Salford’s Schools programme.

In her spare time, Hannah can usually be found baking or cuddling up with her two naughty cats.

Jennifer Wang is a communication and events manager who lives on Dartmoor.

Jennifer grew up in Taiwan and Hong Kong and studied in the US. She returned to Hong Kong after her graduate studies and worked in journalism before moving into public relations, communications and event management. In addition to her professional work, you can find her picking up shifts at local shops and volunteering as a trustee of Gidleigh Village Hall.

A team player, Jennifer hopes to bring her organizational skills to the Whiddon Autumn Festival. Whenever she has a spare minute and not out exploring, she’s knitting or propagating houseplants.

Felix is a Dartmoor-based photographer, visual artist and producer. His photography work includes documentary, portraiture, and commercial projects.

Before embarking on a career as a freelance photographer, Felix worked for ten years in communications in the public sector in London. He is also an experienced live sound and recording engineer.

A dedicated outdoor enthusiast, Felix lives in South Zeal and can often be found hill running over North Dartmoor.

Nick is a freelance trumpeter and graphic designer currently based in London. Having first studied Music at Christ Church, Oxford, he went on to complete his Masters studies at the Royal Academy of Music where he was kindly supported by Help Musicians UK and the Countess of Munster Musical Trust.

Nick’s freelance career encompasses a broad range of solo, chamber and orchestral playing. In 2022 he featured as a guest soloist with the Ealing Symphony Orchestra, Chameleon Arts Orchestra and Barnett Symphony Orchestra and has given more recent recitals with both piano and organ. Nick is a founder member of Natrio, an award-winning trumpet trio specialising in the performance of both modern and natural trumpets, with whom he performs regularly across London. He also enjoys freelancing with orchestras throughout the UK and recently joined the Glyndebourne Tour Orchestra for their production of La Bohème.

When he isn’t playing the trumpet, Nick enjoys designing posters, programmes and logos for musical events and organisations. He has been the Whiddon Autumn Festival’s designer since its inception and is looking forward to working again on this year’s festival.