Member Profiles

'It is incredible to think that these mature vocalists are mere students' The Times

Salim Jaffar (Countertenor)

Salim, much like Stephen, was raised on the mean streets of Cheltenham. Unlike Stephen, he stayed put in Cheltenham, and attended Dean Close School for just under sixteen years. After this he decided to follow in Stephen’s footsteps by applying to King’s. He began singing at Tewkesbury Abbey aged eight and was a chorister there for the next five years. He first dabbled with his countertenor voice two years ago on an Eton Choral Course and has only occasionally (every morning) looked back since. Despite this, he became a full-time countertenor a year ago when he gave up trying to make more masculine noises. He claims to enjoy singing but intends to sell his soul to the city in the not too distant future (as soon as he graduates) and seems to think his degree in Economics might help.

George Gibbon (Countertenor)

Ignoring all popular opinion, George made a return to the choir five years after everyone hoped they had seen (and more importantly, heard) the last of him. When he had finished as a chorister, he threw caution to the wind by venturing a long way out of his comfort zone to another Henry VI establishment. At this all-boys school he found himself under considerable pressure from his director of music to pretend that his voice had never broken, and thus a fledgling countertenor voice was born. He occasionally drags himself away from his beloved second year Classics studies in a feeble attempt to establish himself as one of the top ten countertenors in the choir, but is more often found watching (but very seldom playing) sport and trying to persuade people that he really can sing second bass.

Joseph Zubier (Countertenor)

Joseph, a countertenor, is a first-year student at King’s, reading Music. Hailing from Northern Ireland, located just to the west of England, he began his singing career at St Peter’s Cathedral, Belfast. His dulcet, Northern Irish accent (voted sexiest accent in the world FYI) – was, however, ruthlessly quashed after he went to a school in Winchester for sixth form. But his partiality for a good bit of craic and a pint of Guinness emerged unscathed! Joe’s hobbies include drinking tea, explaining how to pronounce his surname, and shopping in Zara. With the consideration that this biography will be visible in the public domain for at least the next three years, some details have been omitted.

Jack Goulder - Assistant Musical Director (Tenor)

Jack began his musical career as an enthusiastic if easily distracted treble at Westminster Cathedral. Finding the top line a little too crowded for his liking, he soon slumped to alto where he remained for most of his time there until a broken voice ended his career for good - or so he thought. After years of not doing much musically, an abandoned desire to become a brooding soul singer (not brooding enough, apparently), and a brief stint at medical school, the call of Renaissance polyphony proved too much and led him into the welcoming arms of King's Cambridge. It is here that he is found today, pottering rather aimlessly between the Anthropology faculty and the chapel.

Julius Haswell (Tenor)

Scraping back into the King's Men after his year abroad, Julius is a fourth year reading German. Arriving back from his year abroad in Germany with the native approach to humour, Julius has vouched to make no jokes whatsoever in this bio. Whilst living in Berlin he discovered a love of Currywurst, a delicacy he intends on importing into the UK. Despite living in Germany, Julius always managed to make it back to his beloved ghetto of Richmond upon Thames, London, where he also gained experience losing elections. Julius enjoys rugby from a sedentary position, and opening the batting for the King's cricket team. Just don't ask him about his batting average.

Stephen Whitford - Musical Director (Baritone)

Stephen is a third-year baritone reading Classics. Although he was raised on the mean streets of Cheltenham, he is a man of the world, having lived in three continents. That said, he is an avid supporter of real ale, hash browns and the rain. Stephen never followed the well-trodden path of the chorister, but started singing in earnest only two years ago, in his Sixth Form at Dean Close School. Stephen hopes to pursue singing professionally in the not-too-distant future. His chief interests are opera and Lieder; the Choral Scholarship is just an excuse to have a piano in his room...

Zac Moxon - Assistant Musical Director (Bass)

Zac is a third-year bass at King’s reading Music. He started singing seriously aged 17 after realising that academic ability alone wasn’t going to get him in to Cambridge, and hence also decided to apply to King’s. Zac has lived in Birmingham his whole life, but sadly lost his Brummie tone (much to the delight of everyone around him) aged 11 when he was sent to ‘Posh School’ down in Sussex. Despite having become more southern over the years he is still an avid fan of lamb baltis, low quality football, and Peaky Blinders. When he’s not singing Zac can usually be found double booking himself, listening to heavy metal and being asked for ID.

Trojan Nakade (Bass)

Tokyo-born and London-bred, Trojan is a second-year Music undergraduate at King’s. From Westminster Abbey chorister to King’s Scholar at Eton, highest treble to lowest bass, Trojan has been singing for his supper since the age of seven. In quest for modernity, after a lifetime bedecked in archaic ecclesiastic and academic attire, Trojan’s stint with The King’s Men is merely a ploy to don black tie. An aspiring music director, Trojan’s hobbies include conducting the Geistphilharmoniker during coffee breaks, dissecting obscure foreign-language films, and perfecting the spit shine on his wholecut shoes.

Jacob Partington (Countertenor)

Arriving as the second member of his family to join King’s College Choir, Jacob came determined to challenge all pre-conceived ideas about his character. Almost immediately he announced that his radical haircut was a result of experiencing a short spell as a L'Oréal hair model, in an effort to demonstrate how truly cool and alternative he was. Having grown up as a chorister at Gloucester Cathedral, Jacob is no alien to the English choral tradition and is currently enjoying singing as the “extra countertenor” (Decani Alto 3) helping to man a 5-man countertenor force which is often paralleled to a M198 Howitzer or a particularly beautiful ambulance siren. He spent his later years singing at Charterhouse School, initially struggling with an under-developed tenor voice, only to discover, by accident, that he could also sing countertenor. The “Eureka moment”, of course, came when reciting “The hills are alive” on a Cantabrian mountain somewhere in Northern Spain. Jacob is often found in Chapel, keen and ready to annoy whomever stands next to him. He hopes to leave Cambridge as a well-rounded musician with even cooler hair.

Daniel Henderson - Manager (Countertenor)

Daniel is a second-year countertenor, studying at the remote Fitzwilliam College, in the desolate wastelands of ‘Up the Hill’. As a Law student, he is also one of very few members of the King’s Men to do a ‘real degree’ (generally defined as having in excess of one lecture a week). As a result of his remote location and his having actual work to do, Daniel is often to be found running around central Cambridge in a state of overwhelming panic. Unfortunately, as with many members of the King’s Men, this has failed to produce any acceptable level of physical fitness. In his spare time (circa twenty seconds a week), Daniel has managed to develop a remarkable aptitude for participating in football, rugby and cricket - admittedly from a sedentary position, and nearly always through the medium of a television screen.

James Micklethwaite (Tenor)

James is a second-year tenor reading Philosophy at Churchill. He hails from Yorkshire (aka God's Own County), where he spent the first 18 years of his life. His first experience of performing was singing 'Les Poissons' from The Little Mermaid in a school concert aged 7. Since then, he's been hooked. As a child he sang with Opera North, playing, amongst other roles, Miles in The Turn of the Screw and a corpse in Macbeth. Before moving to Cambridge, he spent a year as a choral scholar at Norwich Cathedral, where he also worked in the Cathedral Refectory. Aside from singing, he's a keen tennis player and enjoys cross-country running.

Christopher Nehaul (Tenor)

Chris is a second-year student at King's, reading Music. From the North like many before him, he is busy trying to adapt to the southern culture and he doesn't deny that a gap year in Hereford Cathedral Choir was a life-changing event for him - he had to adapt to such radical reforms as the Lord's Prayer being different. There is no denying he is in the King's Men with the hope of being a cool kid - there’s nothing like close-harmony singing to increase one’s reputation. Enjoying singing with a meaty tenor sound, high notes are usually loud and unsubtle. If the baritones haven't got there first.

Protik Moulik (Tenor)

Protik is currently in his first year at Magdalene College studying Mathematics. He discovered his love for choral singing in the Westminster School Choir where he began as a treble, but eventually could no longer hold onto his beloved top notes. He slipped into the altos, and finally settled in the tenor section, where he prays that his cracks on the high notes aren't too audible. Though he will tell everyone that his undying passion for music is his main motivation for deciding to pursue singing at university, in truth it's just a desperate attempt to convince people that mathematicians can do something as (obviously) cool as sing in the King's Men...

Charlie Baigent - Treasurer (Baritone)

After an unpromising start as a hopeless treble in an Oxford parish church, Charlie disappointed his friends and family by pursuing his singing ambitions, this time giving it a go as a baritone. Years of practice later, he decided to try to become the first engineer choral scholar at King's - what many saw as an insurmountable challenge. A year later he has shown it to be possible, and is pleased to welcome first years studying maths and computer science to join the ranks of choral scholars with ‘proper’ degrees. Outside studies and singing, Charlie spends much of his time deciding whether to support his home or adopted town in the boat race (current thinking is in favour of supporting the winners retrospectively).

Barney Wolstenholme (Bass)

Barney started singing aged 11 in the Trinity Boys' Choir on the mean streets of Croydon. Living in South London prepared him for some of his more prestigious operatic roles, including "Urchin" (Carmen), "Urchin" (Tosca), "Fat Child" (Hänsel und Gretel), "Third boy" (Magic Flute) and "Fairy" (A Midsummer Night's Dream). At the tender age of 18 Barney finally managed to escape the clutches of Croydon, but things have only gone downhill since then. He spent a year learning to drive on the Isle of Wight (often downhill) and has been in Cambridge for the past two years learning to read Music.

Will Crane (Bass)

Will is a first year bass reading computer science at King's. Will's passion for singing started early as a nuisance/chorister at Holy Trinity church in Stratford-upon-Avon. It was his utter enthusiasm for the art-form of evensong that led him to fall asleep and be carried out in his first one, and if you fast-forward 13 years not much has changed. Singing at his second King Henry VI establishment for the second time (really thinking outside the box in this regard), Will has joined the growing ranks of choral scholars doing "proper" subjects (basically anything but music). Aside from singing Will's interests lie in Jazz bass, Jaffa Cakes and a certain half-Jewish post-geographic rhythm section from Southeast Michigan.

Donal McCann (Organ Scholar)

Originally from Belfast (a small town in north-western Europe), Donal is currently in his first year reading music at King’s. His musical career began as a chorister in St Peter’s Cathedral Belfast, where he began his piano and organ tuition alongside another member of the King’s Men, who shall remain nameless. A keen pianist, Donal studied at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin, but he eventually abandoned this when he realised the organ is the same but with added foot bits. This led him to continue his organ studies with David Goode in Eton College, where he was described as ‘Ireland’s greatest musical export since Jedward’. Outside of practising the organ, Donal can often be found training the choral scholars in Irish colloquialisms, much to the amusement of the senior organ scholar.

Henry Websdale (Organ Scholar)

Although his sterilised accent might be deceiving, Henry hails from Ilkley, West Yorkshire. By attending Winchester College, where he was a music scholar, any evidence of this was removed from his persona, except his fervent passion for real ale. He spent a year before coming to Cambridge as the organ scholar at Salisbury Cathedral, where this passion was tenderly nurtured until he reached maximum saturation just before arriving. He now keeps himself to himself, rarely being seen out in Cambridge but more often being spotted taking early morning walks, dressed more formally than the hour demands. His organ career can be traced closely via the websites of many northern newspapers, where his commitment to playing the organ is made undeniable - “I just love playing the organ.” Telegraph and Argus, 14/9/12. Henry is enjoying being promoted to 'senior organ scholar', as he can now finally demonstrate to the world his love of Britney Spears through pre-service improvisations.