Singing Workshops
Since the year 2000 Angela has led Voices singing workshops in Tufnell Park, London N7, with the aim of enjoying singing in a group and finding well-being along the way. She welcomes anyone who wants to sing, regardless of ability and through the fun of learning songs from a wide variety of traditions, enables people to discover their voices and to sing unaccompanied in harmony.
Angela has also been invited to lead workshops throughout the UK.

The Early Years
Angela started learning the piano at the age of eight at the Royal Rhodesian Academy of Music and in her teenage years in England in the 1960s taught herself the guitar and performed Bob Dylan and Simon and Garfunkel songs in a folk duo with her sister, mainly in Eastbourne and along the South Coast. During this time she also won awards in the piano classes at the annual Eastbourne Music Festival.
While reading Music and English at Birmingham University she founded and conducted the orchestra at St John's Church, Harborne, and played guitar in Dave Peacock's Christian Arts Project cabaret band.

Music for Life Festival

Composing
As a student, Angela composed incidental music for Breadrock Street Theatre (which later became Riding Lights Theatre Company, working with playwright, Murray Watts.
After a short spell as a teacher, Angela became a Video Producer with SU's Sound and Vision Unit (1979-1983) and there she composed title and incidental music for many children's productions, directing amongst others Roy Castle and Paul Jones (of Manfred Mann and The Blues Band).
In the late ‘80s she collaborated with writer Meryl Doney in two musicals for children - Ears and the Secret Song and A Lion for the King, which have been performed in London schools and featured on Radio 5.
In ‘92-4 she composed the title and incidental music for two series of Channel 4 Schools' Television programmes produced by Grampian Television.
She also wrote and directed both series of programmes.
For nine years she composed for and music-directed St George’s Centre’s annual community pantomime in Tufnell Park, north London.
Angela is the founder and producer of Music for Life Festival in Tufnell Park – a festival of musical difference, which brings together local professional and amateur musicians from all cultures, styles, ages and backgrounds for a weekend of magical music.

Anam Cara Vocal Trio

Anam Cara Vocal Trio
Angela is a founder member of vocal harmony trio, Anam Cara, together with singer-songwriter, Judith Silver and composer/singer/music therapist, Maggie Newlands.
They met at the Guildhall Jazz Summer School in 1997 and started singing together in Scott Stroman’s Eclectic Voices workshop under the guidance of West End Music Director, Nick Finlow, (of Chicago, Rent, Fosse and Mamma Mia).
Maggie, Angela and Judith formed Anam Cara early in 2000 because they loved singing the wide variety of harmony songs they were learning in the workshop. They perform their own material as well as arranging and singing songs from different traditions. In the last 2 years they have collaborated with jazz saxophonist, Tony Woods.
Anam Cara has performed in colleges, pubs, churches and hospitals; for refugees, patients, discerning listeners and merry drinkers; with saxophonists, cellists, comedians and choirs. For the non-Gaelic-speaking, ‘anam cara’ means ‘soul friend’.

Anam Cara Vocal Trio

CDs
Anam Cara’s first album, Live at St George’s was produced in 2001. ‘The album impressively reflects the trio's ability to touch the soul with atmospheric harmonies and dynamic solo singing’ (Keith Ames, Musician - MU magazine)
Angela’s own ‘showcase’ album, Sometimes the Sun (1997) has received consistently good reviews.

Further Training
Angela is an HPC-registered Music Therapist (Postgraduate Diploma from Guildhall School of Music and Drama/City University), and has a certificate in Counselling Skills and Attitudes from Westminster Pastoral Foundation.

Get in touch!
Angela welcomes invitations to run singing workshops or musical events in all kinds of contexts. Ring or email to discuss your ideas – she’s happy to help you think them through. She is also happy to work as a piano accompanist for singers and instrumentalists, offering a variety of musical styles.

angelareith@naturalvoice.net

020 7609 8153