Ivor Setterfield is a British conductor

Conducting

Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...

 and countertenor

Countertenor

A countertenor is a male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of a contralto, mezzo-soprano, or a soprano, usually through use of falsetto, or far more rarely than normal, modal voice. A pre-pubescent male who has this ability is called a treble...

, and Musical Director of London’s largest choir, Barts Choir.

Education

After beginning his musical studies with the violin, then as a boy treble at St Alban’s Cathedral, Setterfield studied at the University of York

University of York

The University of York , is an academic institution located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the campus university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects...

 graduating with a BA (Hons) in Music in 1998. He then continued his studies at the Royal Academy of Music

Royal Academy of Music

The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...

 from 1988 to 1994, first on the opera course from 1988 to 1991 then the conducting course from 1991 to 1994. An Opera Conducting Scholarship at the London Royal Schools’ Vocal Faculty followed this. He completed his studies with a masterclass with the great Russian pedagogue Ilya Musin

Ilya Musin

Ilya Aleksandrovich Musin was a Russian conductor, a prominent teacher and a theorist of conducting.He began his conducting studies under the conductors Nikolai Malko and Aleksandr Gauk. In 1934, Musin became assistant to Fritz Stiedry with the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra. Later, he...

 and Valery Gergiev

Valery Gergiev

Valery Abisalovich Gergiev is a Russian conductor and opera company director. He is general director and artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, and artistic director of the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg.- Early life :Gergiev,...

, in Sienna.

Recording

Ivor Conducts the New London Singers, and with them has recorded a number of CDs including Vivaldi Gloria recorded in 2008, Requiem, recorded in 2006, Martin & Pizzetti, recorded in 2003, Sweet was the Song: a collection of English music for Christmas, recorded in 2001 and Rachmaninov Vespers’ recorded in 2000.

Television

Ivor has appeared in a number of TV shows. His 2006 documentary The Singing Estate

The Singing Estate

The Singing Estate was a four-part constructed documentary series made by North One Television for Five and FiveArts Cities in the UK, shot from January 2006 to April 2006 and transmitted from 11 June to 2 July 2006...

, shown on the UK’s Channel 5, was nominated for the Rose d’Or award. In the 2008 BBC show Maestro

Maestro (TV series)

Maestro is a 2008 reality TV talent show-themed television series produced by the BBC's Classical Music Department in the United Kingdom. It was shown on BBC Two in August and September 2008....

, he mentored the DJ Goldie

Goldie

Clifford Joseph Price, better known as Goldie is an English electronic music artist, disc jockey, visual artist and actor. He is well known for his innovations in the jungle and drum and bass music genres, having previously gained exposure for his work as a graffiti artist...

, who achieved second place, despite having come out on top in the judges ratings. In 2009 the BBC brought the pair together again for Classic Goldie

Classic Goldie

Classic Goldie was a British two part documentary directed by Toby Macdonald shown on BBC Two in Summer 2009.- Background :The show was based around the Drum and Bass musician Goldie learning how to create a piece of classical music. Goldie was a competitor on the BBC television conducting series...

, as Ivor again mentored Goldie, this time in the composition of a piece for the Family Prom. Ivor also appeared on a number of other TV shows including Richard and Judy, The Wright show and the One Show as well as 10 best Choral Masterpieces for BBC 4.