Bristol Pre-Conservatoire


About the Bristol Pre-Conservatoire

Meet the Team!

Founded in 2012, we are an evening school for young classical and jazz musicians, providing weekly ensemble training in Bristol. Our talented students come together in a fun yet challenging environment to develop ensemble skills and complete musicianship.

It’s a community of like minds, drawn from all over the city. We encourage curiosity, creativity and versatility, building the skill-set required for today’s professional musician.

 

Image of people playing the flute at a Bristol Pre-Con session

Our approach to theory is to learn through doing, applying concepts and ideas on the instrument and voice, complementing what is taught on the school curriculum and taking it to the next level.

 

people singing at a Bristol Pre-Con session

In the opening sessions for the whole group, we work on ear skills and on appreciating music in its widest expression, deliberately blurring boundaries. 

Bristol pre con session

Students will learn about and create music from all sorts of styles, from Congolese rhythms through to Stravinsky ballets. Artists and professionals from the industry visit regularly to enrich these sessions.

Afterwards, students will have two hours of small ensemble training with experienced and inspiring tutors.

people playing the violins at a Bristol Pre-Con
There are two strands to apply to, Intermediate and Senior. For more details and how to apply, read here.

Creating a musical planet in 40 minutes

Meet the Team

photo of Jonathan James

Dr. Jonathan James, BEM

Artistic Director

photo of Sue Voysey

Sue Voysey

Programme Manager/Viola
photo of John Bacon

John Bacon

Voice
photo of Luke Gilbert

Luke Gilbert

Trombone
Photo of Nick Malcolm

Nick Malcolm

Jazz (Trumpet)
Photo of Alex Goodyear

Alex Goodyear

Jazz (Drums)

Photo of Jonathan Rees

Jonathan Rees

Cello
Imogen Triner portrait

Imogen Triner

Oboe

Jago Webb

Jago Webb

Intern

Challenge Yourself

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photo of Jonathan James

Dr. Jonathan James
Artistic Director

Jonathan is a music educator, presenter and conductor. His PhD is in music education and creativity, and he is a visiting professor at the Royal College of Music and Guildhall School of Music and Drama on those subjects. With a career nearing on thirty years, he has taught in a number of different settings, from being Head of Performing Arts at an FE college through to lecturing at Bristol University.
He coaches the senior students at Pro Corda, the national chamber music course, and enjoys improvising in jazz and world styles with the Dovetail Orchestra, a group for asylum-seeking musicians.
His conducting career included work with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Prague Symphony Orchestra and the Bristol Ensemble. He currently works with the St Ambrose Choir, a group of highly experienced singers.
As a freelance workshop leader, Jonathan devises and leads projects for orchestras, communities and music hubs. He also presents on music in concert halls across the UK, typically as the pre-concert speaker. Previous and current clients include BBC Radio 3, BBC Philarmonic, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (as Participation Associate), BBC National Orchestra of Wales (as Discovery Guide), and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He is also a creative lead on residential courses run by the National Children's Orchestra.
He was awarded a British Empire Medal for services to music in the King's birthday honours 2024, partly in recognition for his work with Pre-Conservatoire and with other community projects.

photo of Sue Voysey

Sue Voysey
Programme Manager / Viola

Sue is an experienced artistic planner, event manager, administrator and musician, with current freelance roles including Artistic Planning Manager for the Hallé Orchestra. Sue has worked with the Hallé for 30 years, initially as a member of the viola section and, more recently, in a management capacity. Specific roles with the Hallé have included Head of Ensembles - incorporating education projects such as the Youth Orchestra and Youth Choir - and Co-ordinator of the String Leadership Scheme, a collaboration between the Hallé and the Royal Northern College of Music. She now has full responsibility for creating and programming the orchestra’s 25 pops concerts per year. She also holds the post of music programmer for Broadway Arts Festival in the Cotswolds, and artist support for jazz singer and broadcaster Clare Teal. Sue trained at the University of Birmingham and the Royal Northern College of Music.

photo of John Bacon

John Bacon
Voice

John is a professional tenor and voice teacher, and is recognised as a singer of exceptional musicianship, warmth, style and character. Having performed throughout Europe and North America, he has also been praised for his dramatic intensity, vocal beauty, clarity and agility. John’s singing career has taken him as far as New Zealand, Japan, Mexico and Canada on both the operatic stage and concert platform. He has sung leading roles in works ranging from Monteverdi to Jonathan Dove and major oratorio and recital works from Bach to Britten. Throughout his career he has also been fortunate to work with such distinguished artists as Graham Johnson, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Sian Edwards and Ronald Corp. Through the generous support of the Koerner Foundation Artist Award, and the COB Foundation of Canada, he completed a Master Degree on the postgraduate Opera course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama under the tutelage of Rudolf Piernay. While at the Guildhall, Mr. Bacon was a prize winner in the English Song Competition, represented the college in an LSO Discovery Lunchtime Concert, and worked with the likes of Philip Langridge, Martin Katz, and Malcolm Martineau. Prior to this, John sang with the Juno award-nominated vocal ensemble musica intima, was a winner of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Radio Two Début Series for Young Performers, and completed a Bachelor of Music at the University British Columbia. Having grown up in Vancouver, Canada then spent seven years based in London, John moved to Bristol to take singing teaching positions at both Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital School and Taunton School. John is currently a resident artist of Yehudi Menuhin’s Live Music Now performing regularly with pianist Helen Mills.

photo of Luke Gilbert

Luke Gilbert
Trombone

Luke Gilbert began learning the trombone at an early age having been inspired by his late grandfather, the renowned musician Dennis Chalk BEM. It was this inspiration that led him to achieve a place to study at the Junior Royal College of Music with David Whitson and then subsequently at the Royal Northern College of Music with Chris Houlding, Les Storey and Adrian Morris. Following this he returned to the Royal College of Music as a postgraduate student to complete his studies with the eminent bass trombonist Bob Hughes. Since embarking on a successful and productive freelance career, Luke has performed with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, BBC NOW, BBC Philharmonic and English National Ballet. He has made recordings for radio and film and has worked with well known artists such as Katherine Jenkins, Russell Watson and has also played for Her Majesty the Queen. Luke is currently trombone tutor at Millfield, Dean Close, Clifton College and Wellington School.

Photo of Nick Malcolm

Nick Malcolm
Jazz (Trumpet)

Nick is an original, exciting and heart-felt improviser. His rich, warm sound and sense of improvisational daring inform each and every musical situation and he plays with a total commitment to the music in the moment, whatever the stylistic context. His own quartet plays original compositions combining the rhythmic and harmonic complexities of contemporary jazz with the intensity and interaction of free improvisation. They have made a big impression at The Vortex, Manchester Jazz Festival and Ealing Jazz Festival during the summer of 2011 and toured nationally in 2012 to coincide with the release of their first album. He also plays in an open trio setting featuring world-class rhythm section of Olie Brice and Mark Sanders. Nick has also played at the 606 Club, Cheltenham, Glastonbury and Oxford festivals, London Jazz Cafe and Ronnie Scotts with musicians such as Gail Brand, Chris Batchelor, Alexander Hawkins and Nostalgia 77. Nick is also highly committed to music, particularly jazz, education. He believes that learning to improvise should be a rigorous, joyful and heartfelt process. He has a 1st Class BMus from King’s College London and a Masters in Jazz Performance from Trinity College, London. He has studied with Chris Batchelor, Dave Wickins and Ralph Alessi and teaches jazz trumpet at Wells Cathedral School.

Photo of Alex Goodyear

Alex Goodyear
Drums

Alex Goodyear is a Reading based Drummer, Bandleader and Composer. Since graduating from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in 2019, he has become a regular of the UK and International Jazz scenes, working with artists including Joss Stone, Seamus Blake, John Law, Simon Spillett, Iain Ballamy, Joe Webb, Sam Crockatt, Alex Merritt, Steve Fishwick, Greg Abate, Jake McMurchie, Denny Ilett, Alan Barnes, Huw Warren, Rebecca Nash, Libor Smoldas, and Henrik Jensen. "Alex Goodyear is one of the finest young drummers to emerge for many years..." - The Bebop Club "Swinging, tasteful, and his contribution is sublime. He’s a musician's drummer. There are drummers with the chops flying everywhere but getting in the way of the music... here we have a player who could do all of this but chooses to play the music. Enhancing those around him. Adding colours and being a voice in the perfect conversation." - Jazz in South Wales Alex’s current projects include: • John Law’s “Re-Creations” Quartet • “Yetii”, a Classical-Jazz fusion project co-led by Alex Veitch and Ashley John Long • “Energizer” Trio, co-led by Alex Merritt on sax and Ashley John Long on bass. • “Bluprint”, a funk trio led by Daniel Newberry, featuring Guy Shotton on Organ. Other regular collaborators include Dave Jones, Jonny Bruce, Dave Cottle, Greg Sterland, Craig Crofton, Victoria Klewin, Adam Stokes, Jack Mac, Gareth Roberts, Nick Kacal, Guy Shotton and Sarah Meek.

Photo of Jonathan Rees

Jonathan Rees
Cello

Jonathan Rees has performed across the globe as cellist and gamba player with the UK's leading historical performance and chamber ensembles. He has performed as continuo / principal cellist and gamba soloist with the Academy of Ancient Music, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Arcangelo, Florilegium, Dunedin Consort, The Sixteen, ENO, Britten Sinfonia, RLPO, Manchester Camerata, La Nuova Musica and Solomon's Knot. He plays with the viol consort Fretwork. As a chamber musician and soloist he has performed at the Wigmore Hall, King's Place, St George's Bristol, at the Edinburgh International, London Baroque, York and Lammermuir Festivals amongst others, and venues across Europe. An Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, Jonathan has taught undergraduate and postgraduate historical cello students at the Royal College of Music, given historical performance classes at the Royal Academy of Music, Guildhall School of Music, Birmingham Conservatoire, Cambridge University and the Royal Northern College of Music. He teaches at Bristol's prestigious music school Bristol Pre-Conservatoire and teaches privately in the Bristol area. He has devised and led music workshops and children's concerts for the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Brighton Early Music Festival and others. From 2013 to 2018 he directed and performed at Bristol's acclaimed annual festival, Really Classical Relay.

Imogen Triner portrait

Imogen Triner
Oboe

Imogen Triner studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London where she won many of the major prizes, including the Paddy Purcell Prize for all wind instruments.  She was awarded a Countess of Munster Scholarship and then a Winston Churchill Fellowship to continue her studies with the Berlin Philharmonic’s solo oboist, Lothar Koch.
 
Imogen’s performances have included major concertos with the Tivoli Festival Symphony Orchestra in Denmark, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra,  the Turku Philharmonic and Kuopio Symphony Orchestras – both in Finland, the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra in Norway,   the Kansas Chamber Orchestra,  the National Italian Symphony Orchestra,  the Belgian National Radio and Television Orchestra,  the Norkoping Chamber Orchestra in Sweden  and many chamber orchestras in the UK, with whom she has played numerous concertos and recorded many of them for  CD.   Many of these performances have been recorded for the radio. 
 
As a chamber musician Imogen has performed highly acclaimed recitals in major London venues and in festivals throughout the UK.  She has toured all over Scandinavia, America and Japan both as a recitalist, giving master classes and with her Oboe Quartet – oboeworks. Various composers have written quartets especially for Imogen, notably Peter McGarr,  and some of these are included on the 2 CDs oboeworks has  recorded.
 
Imogen has plays with the Bristol Ensemble for many years and has enjoyed many wonderful and varied performances. From Bach concerti through large orchestral works to more recently  – Pink Floyd and The Beatles! She  now lives in Bristol and loves the city. Imogen continues her busy playing career, coaching and teaching here.
 
When Imogen is not playing she is most likely to be walking in the hills and mountains with her husband, gardening, or training on Bristol Downs with Clifton Bootcamp!
Jago Webb

Jago Webb
Intern

Jago Webb is a violinist and 3rd year Music undergraduate at the University of Bristol, with a particular interest in arrangement and composition. 

Before Bristol, he was joint leader of the Opera North Youth Orchestra Academy and a member of the Opera North Youth Orchestra. He later played by invitation for the Sinfonia of Leeds and before that the City of Leeds Youth Orchestra. Jago is currently the leader of the University of Bristol Symphony Orchestra, and the conductor of the University Chamber Orchestra.

When not making music, Jago is known to talk about Nottingham Forest, he enjoys walking in the Yorkshire Dales, and doing parkrun.