Brian A Lucas ALCM - Musical Director      

Brian's theatrical and musical CV is long and wide-ranging.  Having learned piano, guitar and violin, sung as head choirboy in his local church choir, conducted his school orchestra and played with the County School's Orchestra, he became a founder member of LIDOS.  He played leading roles in over a hundred plays, shows and pantomimes, in and around Yorkshire.

 

Brian has conducted Cadenza since its inception and has wide experience as a stage manager, stage director and music director.  An ALCM (diploma), he holds the NODA long service medal with fifty year gold bar and also special merit medal.

 

 

Margaret Padwell - Vocal Coach/Soprano

Margaret was born into a family of four girls in Leeds.  She started to discover her musical ability in her late twenties, thanks to the choirmaster of a local community choir.  She subsequently studied with Madam Edythe Reeve, with Maryrose Moorhouse, with Barbara Rowbotham and latterly with vocal coach Stuart Smith.

 

She has sung leading roles with many operatic societies in the Leeds area and has been an overall winner at some of the country's major music festivals.  She was offered contracts with English National Opera, Covent Garden and Opera North, but family commitments kept her in Yorkshire; however, she obtained an LRAM qualification and developed a reputation as a teacher.  In recent years, in addition to her teaching commitments, she has embarked on conducting studies, which she puts into practice conducting the Harrogate Theatre choir and coaching two other choirs.  Her musical tastes are eclectic, but she has a particular fondness for opera.

 

 

Andrea Addyman -  Soprano

Andrea started her musical career by learning the cello, clarinet, flute and saxophone.  She also had a great fondness for singing.  During her gap year, before going to study at Hull for a career in nursing, she auditioned for the Knaresborough Musical Society's production of 'Annie' and later took a number of leading roles for the society.  She continued to work with KMS as a performer and choreographer until the society closed in 2007.  Subsequently she joined other members in forming Cadenza.

 

Andrea studies singing with Margaret Padwell and acting with Margaret Jowett; she holds the LAMDA Bronze Award.  Her repertoire includes opera and classical song, but her first love is musical theatre.

 

 

Judy Martin - Accompanist

Born in Yorkshire, Judy moved to Kent at the age of ten, when her father left the Army and went into teaching.  She went to grammar school in Lewisham and then to the Royal Academy of Music, after which she too became a teacher - her first post being at one of the new comprehensives, a school in which all pupils were expected to play an instrument.  Her career continued after the birth of her children, with private piano teaching, part-time and full-time work and the post of Head of Department at Hockley Comprehensive.

 

In the late 1970s she and her husband moved into the hospitality business, becoming tenants of a pub near Aldeburgh and then stewards of golf clubs in Sheffield and Pannal.  Since moving back to Yorkshire, Judy has played the piano for Knaresborough Musical Society, Harrogate Operatic Society, Treble Clef, the Phoenix Players, Betty's, Side by Side and other organisations.

 

 

Pauline Bird - Mezzo-Soprano

Born in Nottinghamshire into a musical family, Pauline moved to London where she joined the Salvation Army Band, playing the baritone horn.  Later she joined the Redbridge Youth Brass Band which went on to take second place in the finals of a national competition.

 

In her working life, Pauline became a social worker dealing with children's problems.  In her spare time she took a vocal improvisation course, acted in local shows and enjoyed going to the opera at Covent Garden.  Since 1997, she has lived in Knaresborough, appearing with Knaresborough Musical Society, the Deanery Players, Ripon Amateur Operatic Society and Woodlands Drama Group.  Her roles have included Kate in 'Kiss Me, Kate', Mrs Lovett in the play of 'Sweeney Todd', Lady Thiang in 'The King and I', and most recently Sally Durant Plummer in 'Follies'.

 

 

Mike Dixon - Baritone

Mike started his musical career with piano lessons at the age of seven.  In 1959, music master Stanley Thewlis at Lancaster Royal Grammar School fostered his interest and he had his first taste of Gilbert & Sullivan.  His love for G&S continues to this day.  He graduated in economics and business management at Leeds University in 1963 and was a keen member of Leeds University Light Opera. 

 

With his wife Brenda he spent eight years in Glossop where he sang with Glossop G&S Society and with the Lindow Singers at Alderley Edge.  The couple moved to Yorkshire in 1976, since when Mike has performed with Knaresborough Musical Society, Ripon Amateurs and Harrogate G&S Society, for whom has been Business Manager since 2004.  He also sings with the Concert Group Side by Side.  Mike studied singing with the late Wendy Green and is now a student of Margaret Padwell.

 

Mike's interests include charitable activities, coupled with some coach driving and volunteer work for the Wensleydale Heritage Railway.

 

 

Ian Hagues - Baritone

Ian's only formal music training consisted of a year's trombone tuition.  Inspired by the Shadows and the Beatles, he learned to play the guitar in the mid 60s, forming a group and playing gigs around his home in Sydenham, south-east London.  His main musical influence is the Beach Boys, together with other American west coast harmony groups and British R & B.   He attended the University of Leeds, where he played with an R&B group and enjoyed concerts by star bands such as The Who and Led Zeppelin.  He became increasingly fascinated by vocal harmony and by the structure of the songs he admired.  After graduating he worked with another band, writing and recording, and helped other musicians with recording and technical processes.  He spent five years as half of the guitar/harmony duo The Double Dealers;  he also worked with a Sixties tribute band.

 

In 1998 he moved to Knaresborough and joined Knaresborough Musical Society;  when it disbanded he joined Cadenza.  Ian also performs regularly with Firefly, a swing vocal group formed in 2004.

 

 

Graeme Hemingway - Tenor

Graeme, born in Barnsley, was involved in musical activities at school and then at college, where he trained for the public services and learned photography.  Whilst at Teeside University he joined his first amateur dramatics group and went on to perform with others, including Red Ladder, through which he met Sharron Winn and heard about Cadenza. Graeme has wide-ranging musical tastes having recently performed in pantomime.  He currently studies singing with Margaret Padwell and continues to take part in local theatrical productions.

 

 

 

 

Tracey Kilner - Contralto

Tracey's musical life has included choral work, folk, rock and original songwriting with a wide variety of collaborators.  Born in Burnley, she spent time in London after leaving school, returned north to Earby, and started to develop bands of varying style with friends, performing new material at clubs such as Palm Cove in Bradford.  Initially she sang harmony parts, but gradually she began to sing lead. She has sung at the Glastonbury Festival and at a number of competitions.

 

Tracey started to learn photography through an adult access course and in 2001 moved to Knaresborough, where she now lives with her husband Phil. She is Director of Photography for the annual 'Feva' festival in Knaresborough and also operates as a freelance photographer.

 

 

 

John Westmancoat - Tenor

John, originally from the Midlands, studied German and French at Swansea and librarianship at Aberystwyth.  He worked for the University of London and then for the British Library.  As a child he was influenced by a wide range of music and drama - his father's favourite songs, the swing band repertoire of Jimmy Dorsey and others, radio plays and theatre performances.  In Germany he discovered he was a tenor and whilst over there he sang with a church choir.

 

John, together with his wife Helen, became involved in amateur drama in Kingsbury, London and following the birth of their son joined a harmony singing group.   Since moving north, John has appeared in numerous productions with Knaresborough Musical Society, has directed a number of plays and also sings with the Harrogate Gilbert & Sullivan Society.

 

 

 

Lesley Wheal - Mezzo-Soprano

Fascinated from an early age by folksong, Lesley frequently sang at musical gatherings whilst travelling with HM Forces - notably in Hong Kong and in Germany, where she also joined a drama group, performing old-time music hall material and straight drama (including a production of Ayckbourn's 'How the Other Half Loves', which won the BAOR Drama Festival).

 

Later she took part in a number of productions with Leeds Arts Theatre, including 'Free as Air'.  She has performed with Harrogate Dramatic Society in two productions of 'Stepping Out' and a number of plays.  She also appeared with Knaresborough Musical Society until the group disbanded.  She has performed in pantomime and drama productions with the Knaresborough Players (including - yes - another 'Stepping Out') and enjoys singing both folk and classical music.  She won an award for her Nidderdale Drama Festival performance in Bernie Crosthwaite's play 'Head to Head'.  Lesley currently studies singing with Margaret Padwell.

 

 

 

Sharron Winn -  Contralto

Born in Leeds, Sharron sang in choirs and acted from early childhood and was performing semi-professionally in clubs by the age of 15.  At 19 she joined the Showstoppers song and dance troupe, touring theatres around Leeds and York with fundraising shows; later she toured the clubs as part of a duo.  She joined Northern Lights, having heard of it on the Internet and won her first acting role with the theatre group Red Ladder, which provided her with six weeks' training and an audition for the Emerge Festival, performing in a new play called 'Bittersweet Sunshine' at the Carriageworks in Leeds.

 

In addition to singing with Cadenza, she has appeared in 'Two' by Jim Cartwright with Leeds Arts Theatre and in a read-through and role-play with Phill Jupitus at the City Varieties for 'Big Society' - she was also one of the street entertainers who performed as part of the production.