THE GLASGOW PHOENIX CHOIR
Sponsored by the The Co-operative Funeralcare
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MARILYN J SMITH - award of MBE
Marilyn J Smith; conductor and music director of the Glasgow Phoenix Choir has been awarded an MBE for Services to Music in the 2012 New Years Honours List.

The Choir is justifiably proud that Marilyn has been awarded this honour in the year the choir celebrates its Diamond Jubilee anniversary and Marilyn her 20th year as conductor.   This, the 2011/12 season marks 110 years of musical excellence for the choir - 50 Years of its predecessor the Glasgow Orpheus Choir and now 60 years of the Glasgow Phoenix Choir.

Marilyn has upheld this tradition through her artistic direction and musical leadership, resulting in the Glasgow Phoenix Choir enjoying a global reputation as one of the foremost mixed voice choirs in the United Kingdom.  Under her direction, the choir has flourished and has now performed throughout Scotland, the UK, Europe and the USA.  Marilyn and the choir’s reputation have been further enhanced by the generous sponsorship of The Co-operative Funeralcare which has allowed the choir to raise significant funds for a wide variety of charitable projects, whilst promoting the joy of singing, which is at the forefront of everything Marilyn and the choir have achieved together.  Marilyn, through her teaching, has also been a major advocate for young people and has wherever possible created performance opportunities for them with the choir in major concert venues.  Aged 59, Marilyn originally from London, has lived in Bearsden in Scotland for the past 39 years.

Marilyn Smith said:
"I am extremely honoured to receive this prestigious award and would like to thank the musicians and choristers I have worked with over so many years, those who have nominated me for this award and every member of the Glasgow Phoenix Choir, past and present."

George Tinning, Managing Director, The Co-operative Funeralcare, which has supported the choir since 2007, said: “Marilyn has been deservedly recognised for the way in which she has helped to spread choral music across Scotland. This honour is particularly fitting for the charitable activities of the choir and the work that she has done in encouraging young people to get involved in choral music.”

GPC Conductor and Musical Director Marilyn J. Smith was appointed Conductor and Musical Director in 1991.  Trained at the Royal Academy of Music in London, she gained her LRAM and Professional Certificate in Singing before moving to Scotland in 1973.  She sang professionally as a soloist, and with Scottish Opera, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra Chorus, the Scottish Chorus and the John Currie Singers.

Marilyn teaches singing at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and Glasgow University, and is in great demand as a choral trainer.  Choirs have always played a significant part of Marilyn's career.  She first conducted a very successful junior choir in London, and in Scotland, trained and conducted children's and adult choirs before her appointment to the Glasgow Phoenix Choir.   With the GPC she has made many recordings and toured Europe, the UK and USA.   The Choir gives regular concerts in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, throughout Scotland and beyond.

Marilyn is in great demand as a vocal and choral coach and conducts master classes and workshops in her own inimitable way.   She regularly adjudicates at music festivals including the National Mod. Marilyn is proud that many of her students are now performing, teaching and conducting professionally themselves, keeping the tradition of choral singing alive.

For further information contact:
John Blue, Business Manager, Glasgow Phoenix Choir , Events House, 426 Drumoyne Rd, Glasgow G51 4DA
Tel: 0141 892 6113  Mob: 07711 421347  Fax: 0141 892 6199   Email: Click Here