Who are we?

(c. early 1540s – 4 July 1623)

William Byrd

Gentleman of the Chapel Royal

Composer, Printer, Publisher, Catholic... not necessarily in that order.

A head and shoulders portrait image of Katie Bank, an Asian woman with winged glasses and dark wavy hair, looking into the camera

Leverhulme Early Career Fellow,

University of Birmingham

Katie Bank

Hello. I am a music historian at the University of Birmingham. I write about musical-intellectual history, recreational music, and visual culture in early modern England and their intersection with emotional experiences of the past. Choir geek extraordinaire. Incredibly useful arts administrator/grant writer + ByrdCentral web person.

https://www.katiebankmusic.com/

A portrait head and shoulders professional photo of James Rhodes, a Caucasian man with dark blonde hair smiling. He is wearing a checked shirt with very small squares of grey and white, against a white background.

Artistic Director of Horizon Voices &

Schools Outreach Director for ByrdCentral

James Rhodes

Hi everyone! I'm James and I work as both a music director in schools and as the artistic director of Horizon Voices, a professional vocal ensemble which seeks to broaden musical horizons through interactive performances, educational workshops and community outreach events. Our mission with ByrdCentral is to increase young people's accessibility to and engagement with choral/vocal music of all styles through our 'Reasons to Sing' project.

Senior Lecturer, Northumbria University

Katherine Butler

Hi! I'm a music historian at Northumbria University. I'm interested in the roles that music played in the lives of Tudor people: whether that's Elizabeth and her courtiers playing musical politics at the royal court, to the stories that Tudor people told about the power of music in human lives and society, to social singing of rounds and catches in the alehouse. I also love singing Byrd's choral music whenever the chance arises!

More about me

DM to get in touch

Mail

Affiliates

A promotional image of a choir standing along a staircase. They are one - per - step and a mix of genders, all wearing black and green uniforms. The text reads ‘Stile antico’ with a subheading: ‘early music vocal ensemble’

Horizon Voices is a London-based professional vocal ensemble seeking to broaden musical horizons through a programme of education workshops, outreach projects and performances.

We are working with GRAMMY-nominated early music ensemble Stile Antico and the Stile Antico Foundation to bring Byrd's 'Reasons to Sing' to Year 8 history and music students across the UK.

Lincoln Cathedral is hosting our academic conference in July 2023 as a part of their Byrd anniversary celebrations. More information soon!

With Sincere Thanks

Coat of arms of the University of Birmingham. A two headed gold lion facing left on a red background top left. A gold mermaid facing forward on a blue background top right. Bottom middle is a gold trimmed book open to the middle page with the Latin phrase Per Ad Ardua Alta, the University motto, across the two pages