THE PEOPLE BEHIND
THE VOICES
We are an award winning vocal group based in Hemel Hempstead. Blending the voices of men and women in close unaccompanied harmony, we sing popular songs from the 1930’s through to the 21st Century.
Ben Cox
Musical Director
Having studied Jazz at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Ben was a founding member of the successful vocal group Vive. Heavily involved in the London A Cappella festival, Vive won the Voice Festival UK choir competition in 2013 along with the Ward Swingle Award. Heading up the ‘The Ben Cox Band’, Ben tours around the UK regularly, playing major jazz festivals. In 2015 Ben released his debut album of original numbers: ‘This Waiting Game’ to critical acclaim. It was named by the Daily Telegraph as one of the best jazz albums of 2015. Ben is currently recording and touring his latest project ‘Hourglass: The Music of James Taylor’. Ben is passionate about jazz music and his vision for Jazz Choirs is to make this wonderful music accessible outside of the confines of music theory and celebrate it where it lives which is in the heart of the people it touches.
Marian Taylor
Chair
Apart from being in the school choir, Marian didn’t start singing until after her retirement. She joined the group in October 2009, and is joint leader of our thriving alto section. She loves singing, and being part of the group, and has watched it grow both in size and popularity. She has been a member of the committee for several years, and became Chairman in July 2020.
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Amanda Masterman
Performance Secretary
Amanda has sung most of her life, either as a member of a chorale society, an operatic society, or just messing around singing with her guitar. She joined the group in 2014, and is joint leader of the Alto section. She really enjoys the challenge of singing a cappella and learning new and exciting arrangements. She joined the committee last year, and recently became Performance Secretary.
Lyn Hug
Secretary
Lyn loves to sing and has been involved in musical theatre for over 20 years. She joined JAC 3 years ago and has been on the committee as General Secretary for more than 2 years. To hear us all singing in harmony is so joyful and to share our songs with an appreciative audience a real privilege, says Lyn.
Mark Chapman
Public Relations Officer
Mark is a new member of the group not having sung in any formal way since school. Utilising his Marketing background, he’s just joined the committee as Public Relations Officer.
Mike Abbott
Treasurer
Mike first sang in his Senior School and a church choir. He then moved onto drama productions for many years. He found Barbershop Harmony singing in 1992. Along with another member of his Barbershop Chorus, Knights of Harmony, he attended a Just A Cappella open night in 2012, liked the repertoire and has been a member ever since. He has been Treasurer since 2018.