Laura Bailie

This is the happy, smiling face of Laura Bailie, Divertimento's first ever professional Musical Director. We were all struck by her friendly approach and, more importantly, her enthusiasm and passion for choral singing. We may have been a little rusty after the enforced covid break but Laura is anything but. The difference she has made is tremendous, licking us into shape, getting us back up to performance standard and introducing us and our audiences to a whole new range of exciting (and sometimes very tricky) compositions. 

Originally from Northern Ireland, Laura completed her Masters in Choral Conducting at The University of Birmingham under the tutelage of Simon Halsey CBE. Prior to her studies at Birmingham, Laura graduated with BA Honours in Classical Voice at Leeds Conservatoire where she primarily focused her singing in opera studies, as well as taking conducting as her major specialism

Starting as a chorister at a young age, Laura’s passion for choral music prompted her to pursue a path in solo performance. From there, she performed various oratorios, operas and solo recitals. In 2017, Laura was awarded the Margaret Markland Award from the Yorkshire Philharmonic Choir and the Diocese of Leeds Choral Scholarship, as well as attaining the position of residential singer for the Leeds Youth Wind Orchestra.

In addition to her vocal studies, Laura also discovered her love for conducting and, since then, has been working alongside choral societies in West Yorkshire. Following this, she was appointed as Musical Director of the Leeds Conservatoire SU Chorus which precipitated her invitation to prepare the conservatoire’s chorus for a ‘Side by Side’ rehearsal with Opera North. Laura spent her final year in Leeds working with Ilkley and Otley Choral Societies and was honoured to be the guest conductor for their 75th anniversary concert. Simultaneously, she assisted various conductors around England,  both in an orchestral and choral setting.

Laura is currently the Musical Director for various choruses around England including Divertimento, Daventry Choral Society, Warwick and Kenilworth Choral Societies and HCS Voices - the training choir of Huddersfield Choral Society. In November 2023, she made her debut as a Chorus Master with Huddersfield Choral Society and HCS Voices for their performance of Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610 with His Majesty's Sagbutts and Cornetts.

Alongside her Musical Director positions, Laura has been invited to guest conduct various choruses around the country, including the UK premiere of the Novello edition of Ethyl Smyth's Mass in D with Northampton Bach Choir.

In 2023, Laura became co-founder and Musical Director of The Elgar Scholars, Birmingham's newest auditioned chamber choir of young professional musicians who are alumni of both academic and musical institutions around the West Midlands.

She is now using her considerable talents getting Divertimento into shape and inspiring us to bigger and better things during this next, exciting stage in our choral journey.