PHILIP COLLS, Musical Director of The Cappella Singers since 1981, is a native of Yorkshire.
After training as a teacher he began to study with the counter-tenor Geoffrey Mitchell and sang successively with the choirs of Carlisle and Peterborough Cathedrals: at Peterborough he studied with Stanley Vann.
In 1980 he was appointed by John Sanders as a lay-clerk at Gloucester Cathedral; for many years he sang with The Saint Cecilia Singers.
He holds singing diplomas from the Royal College of Music and Trinity College of Music; the degree of Bachelor of Music from London University; and that of Master of Arts from Bristol University, where he specialised in the editing and performance practice of Early Music.
In February 2001 he became a visiting singing teacher at the University of Hull.
Since January 2005 he has been a singing teacher at Rendcomb College. When not engaged in teaching Music and French, he enjoys cycling and walking, cooking and eating, and drinking fine wines. Under their influence he confesses to a secret ambition: to be a jazz singer.