Four Oaks Cluster Choir

Musical Directors

Richard Jeffries

Richard Jeffries has had a lifelong interest in music and began learning the trumpet at the age of ten.  This interest grew as he moved through secondary school, playing in bands and orchestras, and singing in the school choir. He was a member of the Birmingham Schools Concert Orchestra from 1990-93,  performing at the Symphony Hall, Royal Albert Hall and Royal Festival Hall on several occasions.  He achieved Grade 8 trumpet before leaving school. Richard  qualified as a primary school teacher with music as a main subject in 1997, and has been teaching at Four Oaks Primary School since September of that year.  He is passionate about music and has taken on numerous musical projects at the school over the past 12 years, musically directing various concerts, musical performances and shows.  He always encourages children to get involved in playing an instrument or singing, and in April 2005 founded the Four Oaks Cluster Choir -  a vision which embraced singing across a community of schools in the area. 'It was a shaky start with just 19 members at first, but over time the numbers have steadily increased. I really wanted children to experience the joy of music - particularly singing - and give them experiences which will stay with them forever', he says.   Richard, and colleague Liz Birch, co-directs this choir, along with The Accidentals - a community choir for adults. They also began a brand new choir for teenagers this autumn. He is a member of the Association of British Choral Directors,  and is  principle trumpeter and Chairman of the Sutton Coldfield Orchestra. He also plays the piano and reached grade 5, but admits that he didn't start learning until he was in his second year of teaching!

Liz Birch

  Liz has been interested in music from an early age having her first piano lesson at the age of 6 and continued playing until taking her grade 6 exam.  She has been a member of many choirs mainly in her teaching capacity but prior to be coming a teacher, she began a school choir in the inner ring of Birmingham which participated in many inter-school and local concerts.  There are many aspects of music that Liz enjoys but she is a particular fan of live theatre and musicals.  During more recent years she has been a member of an amateur dramatic society playing many characters in a variety of plays.  This has led her to co-produce school productions and assist with the productions of the plays she has undertaken. In fact her eldest daughter has also taken to the stage in Theatre Arts and Dance! She has co-directed the Four Oaks Cluster Choir since September 2006, and has enjoyed getting stuck into some challenging music. She also co-directs The Accidentals - a new, local community choir for adults, which was started in April 2008. Her latest challenge is getting involved in setting up a choir for teenagers in the area, which she now directs with Richard.

Both Liz and Richard have studied conducting and musical direction with the Association of British Choral Directors, and passed their diploma-level course in March 2009.