The Diocese of Shrewsbury is pleased to announce the appointment of Thea Sheppard and Motje Wolf as Choral Directors. Thea and Motje will visit schools across the Diocese as part of its Schools Singing Programme.

Thea Sheppard studied for a degree in Music at Birmingham Conservatoire and then followed a varied freelance musical career. Education and teaching have always been in her blood, so it was natural to follow that route by completing a primary PGCE at the University of Chester. She has since combined her professional musical work with teaching for close to 20 years in primary schools across the country.

Thea also has experience working as a senior manager in school leadership teams and has inspired hundreds of children to take part in many performances. Seeing first-hand how children thrive under confident musical direction and witnessing the joy that choral music can bring has always been her passion. Her wealth of experience in the classroom and her enthusiasm for the love of singing is something the Diocese looks forward to bringing to its budding young singers.

Dr Motje Wolf is a German-British mezzo-soprano and Choral Conductor. Apart from being an active soloist and choral singer, she holds a PhD in Music Education, researches vocal pedagogy and teaches music education at De Montfort University. Motje’s expertise lies in developing children’s voices which she has done previously in the Choir Outreach Projects of Leicester Cathedral and Rutland Music Hub, as well as when working as Director of Music at St Margaret’s Church in Leicester and Loughborough All Saints Church in Loughborough.

Having published about singing and young people in academic books and journals, Motje’s research and practical experience have led her to give talks and workshops to other choral conductors, singers and educators throughout Europe. Motje leads the Special Focus Group ‘Singing in Music Education’, a group of researchers and practitioners who specialise in singing with children and young people within the European Association of Music in Schools. Motje is also a trustee of the Sing Up Foundation, which focuses on engaging young people to sing for their well-being.