SPEECH: Mary Ann Tear
DRAMA: Stephen Owen
INSTRUMENTAL: Roger Crocker
DANCE: Laura Symonds
VOCAL: Alison Sutton
ADJUDICATORS INFORMATION
FOLK DANCE AND DANCE - Laura Symonds – PGCA, Member of the British Federation of Festivals for Music, Dance and Speech
Laura Symonds trained as a dancer with the late Letty Littlewood and went on to become a student at the Royal Ballet School. A musical theatre course followed at the Arts Educational School and she attended private drama lessons at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama throughout her youth.
Her first work in theatre was as a dancer appearing in many West End musicals and television shows for both BBC and ITV.
She has worked with choreographers such as Paddy Stone, Irving Davies, Norman Maen, Lionel Blair and others. She gradually turned from just dancing to taking solo roles in musicals – understudying Judi Dench in the show Cabaret at the Palace Theatre – playing Princess in Aladdin with Bruce Forsyth and taking other roles such as Cinderella and Beauty in Beauty and the Beast and in many other musicals in various theatres around the country.
Laura was the resident singer on the Roy Castle Show for two years with BBC 1 and made several records for the Phillips label.
Her teaching experience is wide and varied and includes working for Letty Littlewood at the Associated Arts School for five years, mainly teaching work for Festivals. During this time she won the Choreographic Cup in the All England Competition.
Since then, Laura has been a freelance teacher and choreographer. She is a full member of the British Actors’ Equity and on the panel of All England Dance. Recently she has been awarded a Postgraduate Certification in Adjudication from Bretton Hall, affiliated to Leeds University.
SPEECH – Mary Ann Tear – LLAM, DipLCDD, DipEd, LISTD, AISTD, CertTESOL
Mary Ann is a freelance Performing Arts specialist, an examiner for Trinity Guildhall and a British Federation adjudicator. In the past 5 years, this work has seen her visit Australia, Hong Kong, South Africa, India, Canada, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Dubai and New Zealand, as well as many UK centres. She has always been involved in Arts education and has lectured on Further Education courses in the UK and on University courses worldwide. Mary Ann has directed, choreographed and performed in many Musical Theatre shows and she is an experienced theatre director. She particularly enjoys working on devised pieces that include drama, dance and physical theatre. Her most recent projects “Inter-rup-tions” and “Take a chance on 7” were performed at La Salle in Singapore.
For 8 years, Mary Ann ran the Gordon Craig Youth Theatre in Stevenage and was involved in many community projects. She choreographed pantomimes for Kevin Wood and has worked with Matthew Townshend Productions and the National Trust on T.I.E. programmes. In the early days of her career, Mary Ann had her own Dance-Drama Schools and a cabaret group and latterly she successfully completed a T.E.S.O.L. qualification. Whilst continuing to travel, examine, adjudicate, perform, direct and choreograph, she also leaves time for theatre-going, reading, visiting galleries and exhibitions, believing that it is so important to keep abreast of the current events in the world of the arts.
Mary Ann is particularly looking forward to returning to the Island – her mother’s birthplace – and recalling those halcyon days of summers at Seaview when it never seemed to rain!
DRAMA – Stephen Owen – BA(Hons), BA(Ed), PGDip(Ed), MA, MEd, FRSA, FESB, FLCM, LRAM, LGSM(Perf), LTCL(Perf), LLCM(TD) LLAM(Hons), ATCL Cert Ed
Stephen Owen trained as a teacher of Drama, Speech and Movement at Trinity and All Saints’ College, University of Leeds. After qualifying, he went on to study with Eliner Rutherford for a number of years, gaining specialist diplomas in the teaching and performance of all aspects of Speech and Drama Studies. As well as being responsible for Drama at the schools in which he worked, he also taught pupils of all ages and abilities privately, from complete beginners to Licentiate and Fellowship diploma level. For a time, he was also voice coach to a number of undergraduate students at The College of Ripon and York St John, who were experiencing communication difficulties. He became an examiner for The English Speaking Board and The Poetry Society and enjoyed adjudicating at many Festivals throughout the country.
In April 1985, he was promoted to the headship of a primary school in Derbyshire, which inevitably meant less time for examining and adjudicating. During this time he became a Religious Education inspector for the Roman Catholic diocese of Hallam. Since retiring in July 2007, he has been appointed as an examiner for LAMDA, has become a Council Member of the Society of Teachers of Speech and Drama and has resumed his work as an Adjudicator Member of the British and International Federation of Festivals. Whilst enjoying headship very much, he is delighted, once again, to be part of a creative, rather than a bureaucratic world.
When not examining or adjudicating, Stephen’s leisure time consists of seeing as many plays and operas as possible, taking his two boxer dogs for long walks and teaching his young grandchildren to swim.
MUSIC (VOCAL & CHORAL) – Alison Mary Sutton – GGSM, PGCA
Alison Mary Sutton trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, gaining honours in both Graduate and Recital Diplomas as well as winning several prizes and major awards. She has had extensive experience as a singer, having appeared at most of the major London concert halls. Performing as part of a voice/harp duo, she has fulfilled recital engagements at many music clubs and festivals and has also broadcast on BBC Radio 2 and Radio 3.
She has performed many operatic roles and has worked with a wide range of companies including Kent Opera, Pavilion Opera, London Opera Players, London Opera Factory and Opera de Lyon, touring widely in the UK, Europe and the USA. She has also worked with the Academy of Ancient Music and the Monteverdi Choir. As a member of Triple Time, she recently released a CD of vocal duets.
Increasingly busy as a teacher and adjudicator, Alison has also examined for the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, including several tours to the Far East. She is also an ABRSM Diploma Examiner and mentor for the CT ABRSM Course. As a choral workshop tutor for Making Music, she has worked with many choirs in the South West and also with the BBC Symphony Chorus. Adjudicating engagements have included Leith Hill and Sligo International Choral Festival and she has also been on the jury for the AESS National Junior English Song Competition. She has been the External Specialist Assessor on the final recitals panel at Birmingham Conservatoire for three years and has returned to conduct a workshop there. Alison has been director of Music at Rendcomb, an annual residential solo singing course and has also tutored at Hereford International Summer School and Benslow Music Trust.
She also acts as vocal adviser at Cheltenham General Hospital’s Voice Clinic, helping to rehabilitate damaged voices.
MUSIC (INSTRUMENTAL) – Roger Crocker – MA, GRSM, ARAM, LRAM, ARCM, PGCE
Roger Crocker began his musical career in Birmingham, studied at the Birmingham Conservatoire with Marjorie Haslehurst, was a Manton Faulkner and Yardley Education Foundation Scholar and played with the CBSO, Midland Youth Orchestra and on BBC Radio as a soloist while still at school.
He is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, where he studied with Guy Jonson and Wilfred Parry and later with Erich Vietheer and Geoffrey Parsons focussing on piano accompaniment and vocal music. He studied for a PGCE at Reading University, an MA at the London University Institute of Education and holds an ARAM for services to music education.
He has taught in four London Boroughs in primary and secondary phases and as a music advisory teacher. He is currently Lead Adviser (Music) and Head of the Music Service for West Sussex County Council ‘Children and Young People’s Service Learning’ which provides around 13000 music opportunities for children and young people every week. He occasionally works as an examiner for the ABRSM, a Team Leader for EdExcel at GCSE and as an adjudicator for the British Federation of Festivals.
He has been Chair of the National Association of Music Educators and is Chair of the Advisers, Inspectors and Consultants Forum of that body. He is Vice Chair of the Adventure, Service, Challenge Scheme for young people. He is also an accompanist, organist and choir director on a regular basis.
