The Oxford Clerks

	Jonathan Darbourne is a countertenor in the group. He received his early musical training at Southwark Cathedral, London, directed by Peter Wright. Whilst a treble, he sang as a soloist with orchestras at the Barbican, Queen Elizabeth and Royal Albert Halls, as well as taking the roles of first boy in Mozart's Magic Flute at the Coliseum, with Susan Gritton, and Miles in Britten's The Turn of the Screw at Wilton's Music Hall, conducted by Charles Hazlewood, for which he received high critical praise. After finishing as a choral scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford, and gaining a First Class Honours in Music, he went on to take a Masters (Distinction) in Consort Performance at the Schola Cantorum, Basle, under the direction of Anthony Rooley. There he worked with singers such as Evelyn Tubb, Rogers Covey-Crump, and Emma Kirkby, and looked at editing processes with David Fallows. He is currently singing in London with groups such as Chapelle du Roi. The Independent on Sunday recently reviewed his performance in the opera The Waiter's Revenge by Stephen Oliver as "outstanding". He studies with Billy Purefoy.
	Dominic Burnham is a countertenor in the group. He began singing as a chorister at New College, Oxford, aged 7. Whilst head chorister, he was a soloist on In Excelsis, the BBC's series Simon Schama - A History of Britain and at the Classical Brit Awards. He won a music scholarship to Winchester College and is grateful to Dr. Salwey for coaxing him from the ranks of the pre-pubescent “basses” to join the less popular countertenor section. Whilst at Winchester, he learnt with Charles Brett and sang as a soloist on Winchester College Chapel Choir's Hear My Prayer. He gained a choral scholarship back to New College and has enjoyed touring and recording with the choir. Since leaving Oxford he has worked as a freelance singer specializing in choral music although he has also sang as a backing singer for Mary Duff. He started singing close-harmony at Winchester College where he recorded two CDs with Cantores Episcopi and continued at Oxford with the New Men. He has been arranging since the age of 16 and has had many of his close-harmony works recorded. Dominic also enjoys musical theatre and has performed in 'Oklahoma!' and 'Guys and Dolls' as well as co-directing and composing the music in 'Politicking'. His sporting highlights include bowling a three wicket maiden against Marlborough, representing Winchester in the Fives Nationals and winning Cuppers for New College.
	Richard Ogden is a tenor in the group. Classical music didn’t really interest him at an early age; for his first singing audition he sang a Beach Boys song! At the age of eight, however, he was awarded a scholarship to Westminster Abbey Choir School, where he sang with soloists such as Emma Kirkby, Andrea Bocelli and Bryn Terfel, becoming Head Chorister in his final year. He attained a music scholarship to Eastbourne College, where he set a school record for the 200 metres (probably since beaten!), placed in the School steeplechase, and particularly enjoyed playing for the Ist Rugby 7’s team. He was then a choral scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he played for the hockey team and was vice-captain of the rugby side. In his spare time, he also read Ancient History...
	Ed Goble is a tenor in the group. He was taught singing by Julian Smith at Winchester College, where he held music and academic scholarships and played in the Soccer and Hockey XIs. He also founded the musical theatre company RicNic Productions, and sang in the close harmony group. At Magdalen College, Oxford, he was a choral and academic scholar, and read Philosophy, Politics and Economics. In his spare time he produced musicals on the Oxford stage and played college hockey and football, captained the college squash team, and played squash for the university. He also enjoys designing websites... As a singer he particularly enjoys the English song and German lieder repertoires. Most recently he has sung the lead tenor role in Mozart's 'Bastien unt Bastienna', given a recital of Schumann's 'Liederkreis', and sung Haydn's Nelson Mass and Bach's Wachet Auf cantata under Brian Kay.
	Andrew Johnson is a baritone in the group. He began singing when he was 7 with the Bath Abbey Choir under Peter King. After two years he joined St Paul's Cathedral Choir School, becoming Head Chorister in his final year. He was often featured as a soloist on recordings, including for the BBC’s ‘Gormenghast’ trilogy, Mike Oldfield’s disc ‘Millenium Bell’, Disney's film ‘The Prince of Egypt’, and New College Choir's recording of Boyce’s ‘New Year Ode’. He was the main soloist with the ‘Boys Air Choir’, featuring on four CDs and in two tours to Japan. With Sir David Hickox, he performed concerts at the Barbican and Newbury festivals. He also managed to 'steal' Jonny's solo in a joint service with Southwark! He was awarded a music scholarship to Prior Park College where he played the viola in the Wiltshire Youth Orchestra, and in his final year performed Grieg's 'Piano Concerto in A minor'. He was known for sneaking Westlife renditions into church services whilst playing the organ. He then won a choral scholarship to Magdalen College, Oxford, where he studied music. Andrew is a keen sportsman, and played in the school first teams for rugby, hockey and tennis. He kept this up at University as captain of the Magdalen College rugby team.
	Jonathan Howard is a bass in the group. Attending the German School in London rather than any choral foundation during his most formative years, Jonathan’s love for classical music developed steadily throughout his education at Christ’s Hospital, where he achieved ABRSM Grade VIII distinctions on the Violin, Viola, Piano, and Voice by the age of 15. He held scholarships for Classics, Mathematics and Music, and founded a love for drama and sport, particularly for rugby and swimming. He won a choral scholarship to New College, Oxford, where he read Classics and participated in many tours and recordings with the choir. He studied singing with Bronwen Mills, and performed as a soloist in Durufle’s Requiem, Charpentier’s Messe de Minuit, Handel’s Dixit Dominus, and Bach’s St John Passion. At Oxford, he particularly enjoyed studying moral philosophy and lounging on well-sunned lawns. Other ahievements included earning the title of Mr New College, and winning a gold medal in Inter-Collegiate Trampolining. UPDATE (May 2010): Jonny has been offered a position with the King's Singers! Whilst obviously we are very sad that he will be leaving us, we wish him all the best in this exciting new stage in his career. UPDATE (May 2011): We have appointed Tom Bennett to the bass position in the group. Tom was a choral scholar at Christ Church College, Oxford, and graduated in 2011. We will post an updated biography and photo in the near future.