Mark Shanahan, Musical Director

The Hackney Singers were absolutely delighted when Mark accepted the position of Musical Director in 1998. He takes many rehearsals personally and oversees the musical direction of the Choir alongside his many other commitments.

Mark Shanahan was born in Manchester of Irish parentage and studied at Chetham’s school of Music. He then studied at London University before joining the post-graduate conducting course at the Royal Academy of Music as the Sir Henry Wood conducting Scholar. He won the NAYO Conducting Competition for European Music Year.

His orchestral work includes broadcasts and concerts with the National Symphony orchestra of Ireland, RTE Concert Orchestra, Stavanger Symphony, the Orchestre Filarmonica de Gran Canaria, Netherlands Symphony Orchestra and RPO.

Mark has conducted for Opera Ireland, English Touring Opera and the Wexford Festival. For Grange Park Opera he has conducted La Traviata and the acclaimed production of i Capuletti e i Montecchi, for Opera North La Traviata and The Queen of Spades and Don Giovanni for RNCM. Since 1993 he has been associated with English National Opera as a guest conductor; particularly associated with Italian repertoire, where productions have included, La Forza del Destino, the Barber of Seville, Leoncavallo and Puccini La Boheme, La Traviata, Otello and Tosca, described by the Times as ‘a musical triumph’.

Concert work has included performances at the Royal Festival Hall and Barbican Hall, London in wide-ranging repertoire from La Damnation de Faust and Verdi Requiem to Strauss Ein Heldenleben.

He is a guest at the Opera and Orchestral Department at the GSMD, Guest Professor of Conducting at the Royal Academy of Music, London and Visiting Conducting Fellow at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester.

Andrew playing in St George's Chapel Windsor.

“The choir has that ability, no matter how tired or fed up I feel, to cheer me up on a Thursday evening.”

Andrew has been the Repétiteur with the Hackney Singers for many years, working with at least 4 directors. He attends all rehearsals taking an active part in training, accompaniment and leading rehearsals when Mark or Dan cannot personally attend.

Andrew Storey was born in Blackpool and was Organ Scholar at Blackpool Grammar School. He read Music and Mathematics at Kent University and studied the organ in Canterbury Cathedral under the now organist David Flood.

He taught music at Halliford School, Shepperton and City of London Freemans School before returning to academic life to study Computing and Mathematics.  On completing an MSc and PhD Andrew went back to teaching and is currently Head of ICT at Dulwich College.