Andrew Sutton - Conductor and Musical Director
Andrew has conducted the Mid Sussex Choir since 1987 having conducted his University Music Society Choir and Orchestra as a student and then a chamber choir in North Wales. At U.C.N.W. Bangor, he studied conducting with John Hywel and clarinet with John Fuest in Liverpool.
Andrew has taken the Mid Sussex Choir through many varied projects covering major choral classics from Baroque to 21st Century. Highlights have included Bach’s Magnificat, Mozart’s Requiem, Puccini’s Gloria, Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius and Rutter’s Requiem and Feel the Spirit. There have also been Nights at the Opera and Best of Musicals as well as the Annual Christmas Concert and numerous small-scale events.
As an instrumentalist Andrew works as an examiner for Trinity College, having recently retired from teaching. He has played extensively in orchestras, big bands and smaller ensembles. Solo performances include concerti on both clarinet and saxophone, and he has featured Mozart, Weber, Copland, Coates and had a double saxophone concerto written for a friend and himself by Paul Carr. Other conducting credits have included Brighton Chamber Orchestra and Sussex Symphony Orchestra on the classical side and numerous operatic societies in the South East varying from G&S to Chess on the lighter side. He regularly plays in local orchestras and the Ronnie Smith Showband.
Phillip Sear - Accompanist
Phillip studied piano and organ while at school in Mid-Sussex, and was asked to play for school Gilbert & Sullivan productions. He read Maths and Music at Royal Holloway, London and became an accountant in the City. In the 1980s he turned more to the music side and became an accompanist to local operatic societies for their music theatre productions.
He later became a rehearsal pianist for opera groups in Sussex and Surrey, and attended advanced piano classes at Morley College for several years. He has given public performances of works by neglected composers, and has produced many videos of their music for his YouTube channel PSearPianist, which has received more than 13.5 million views.
Phillip plays for GCSE performance recordings as well as diploma and grade examinations, and regularly accompanies at local music festivals. He is accompanist to the Burgess Hill Choral Society as well as the Mid Sussex Choir , and also plays the organ for services at local churches. You can find out more on his website
