JUSTIN HARMER
Justin Harmer was born and educated in London, studying piano and composition as an exhibitioner at Trinity College of Music Junior Department. Before university he worked as a freelance repetiteur with the Royal Academy of Dancing. He read English and Music at York University as an undergraduate, winning a performance prize with the music department. He went on to post-graduate study at the Royal College of Music, as a Senior Exhibitioner.
Justin worked as a repetiteur for the Royal Ballet School Junior Associates, and was a member of the professional Chapel Choir at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea. As a piano and singing teacher, he has held posts in pre-primary, primary, secondary and tertiary education, and in the private and public sectors, having also taught at Norton Rose Fulbright and Macquarie Capital with City based Music in Offices.
He made his professional vocal debut in 1991 and has appeared with Bampton Opera; Co-Opera Co; Gower Festival; Mitte Europa Festival, Jerusalem Early Music Festival; Chelsea Festival and with the London Handel Orchestra; Northern Sinfonia; the Royal Ballet Orchestra with National Youth Music Theatre, and in Italy; France; Spain; the Czech Republic; Austria and Switzerland, and on television in France and Spain.
He was a keyboard player at a fledgling 1990 MOBO awards, and appeared on BBC and Sky News in 2017, accompanying soprano Milly Forrest in an article filmed at the Wigmore Hall. As a baritone soloist, he has appeared at St John's Smith Square; Queen Elizabeth Hall; Covent Garden Piazza; Edinburgh International Festival; Edinburgh Fringe; Royal Albert Hall Elgar Rooms; Westminster Abbey; St James's Piccadilly; St Martin in the Fields and Snape Maltings.
In 2017 he accompanied "The Voice of Assisi", Friar Alessandro Brustenghi, at St George's Roman Catholic Cathedral, Southwark. His sync album “News: up to the minute” was published in 2018 with Basstone Music. That year, his music featured in The Gorgeous Georgians - as part of the Horrible Histories tour with Birmingham Stage Company at Hampton Court Palace. He contributed music to their 2018-19 UK tour, in The Awful Egyptians, which played around the country. His Gorgeous Georgians contribution appeared in Barmy Britain on tour in Southern England and in the West End in 2021.
Justin was Acting Director of Music of Medici Choir from 2018-19, having premiered many compositions by their late Director of Music, John Baird, as baritone soloist. He was Organist at St Ann’s, Kingston, from 2011-2015; Organist at St Mary's, Clapham, from 2015-19, and Director of Music at St Michael's, Stockwell, from 2016-19, where he founded their STMAF arts festival in 2017. In 2018 he appeared at the festival, accompanying Soprano Katherine Watson for a selection of Simon Russell Beale’s “Desert Island Hits” music choices. He was Organist at Holkham Hall from 2022-23. He has recorded two audiobooks available on Audible: “A Peek at Bathsheba” the second part of a life of King David by Uvi Poznansky; and Julian Chitta’s life of Emperor Constantine: “Peace be with you!”
Justin is currently repetiteur of Fakenham Choral Society, and MD of Creakes Chamber Choir and The Walsingers Children’s Choir. He is the Cantor at the Roman Catholic National Shrine of Our Lady at Walsingham. Together with Charlotte, he runs the “Walsingham Winter Weekend”, and puts on exhibitions, events and concerts regularly in the village and at the Old Bakehouse.
CHARLOTTE HARMER