Keith Bramich
Keith BramichKeith Bramich joined the bass section of Community Choir at Alfrick in 2013. He stood in at short notice in April 2014 to conduct John Stainer's The Crucifixion at Leigh Church when founder conductor Madeline Brewin was suddenly taken ill. He continued to sing in the choir, working closely with Madeline as her assistant conductor until April 2016, when Madeline retired from the choir, leaving it in Keith's hands.
Highlights of his time with the choir, working with sensitive accompanist Lucas Ball, have been a Vivaldi Gloria in Suckley Church, and a spectacularly well-received 2017 summer concert in Cotheridge Church, shared with the male voice group GR-VIII, at which the choir gave the first performance of The Ballad of Molly and Ewan by Lynn Norris. Keith and the choir, working with local musicians Jane Green, Arthur Bancroft and Ian Armstrong, also appeared briefly on a Channel 5 TV documentary about the Hop Shed Brewery, formerly known as Unity Brew House.
Born in Worcester in 1958, Keith grew up in Suckley, one of Alfrick's neighbouring villages. After many years of choral singing, he began conducting studies with Lawrence Leonard in the 1980s, showing unusual talent during his first few months in front of an orchestra by his passionate and inspiring conducting, from memory, of whole movements of symphonies. He continued to study orchestral conducting with Paul Sarcich, Rodolfo Saglimbeni, George Hurst and Denise Ham, and choral conducting with Mary Mogil and Simon Johnson.
Since 2007, he has been a regular guest conductor of Blackfriars Sinfonia, and he was musical director of Mornington Sinfonia from 2008 until 2018. Since 2010 he has been a regular guest conductor of Wealden Sinfonia. He has also conducted Salsa Inglesa, Orion Chamber Orchestra, the Leon Singers and Leigh Church Choir. From 2012 until 2015 he was assistant conductor of Chalfont Concert Wind Band, where he ran the training band for late starters and children, helping to inspire young percussionist Alexander Pullen, who, in 2018, became the youngest person ever to reach the finals of the BBC Young Musician competition. Keith became musical director of Aeolian Sinfonia of North London in 2019.