Martin Lightowler
Martin has always been an active musician – singing, playing piano, oboe and composing. From the age of 13 he attended the Northern School of Music and played principal oboe in the Manchester Youth Orchestra.
Martin studied at Dartington College of Arts and had a career as a Sheffield secondary music teacher. He achieved an ARCM in 1975 has played in various orchestras in Sheffield, currently playing principal oboe with the Rotherham Symphony Orchestra and playing in the Steel City 5 Wind Quintet.
From 2005 to 2023 he was conductor of the Endcliffe Orchestra, and has sung with the Sheffield Chorale, the William Byrd Singers in Manchester, Schola Gregoriana and Renaissance Voices, and early in his career was appointed conductor of Stannington Choral Society. He is currently musical director of Westside Singers.
Meet the team…
Our friendly team will welcome you on the day
By day:
Instrumental tutor, flautist with Sheffield Phil. and Steel City 5 chamber group.
What you said:
“Delicious coffee and all those outrageous treats [cakes] is very, very much appreciated!”
“The refreshments were to die for – many thanks to Fiona, she does a wonderful job!”
By day:
Web designer, massage therapist, and enthusiastic tenor.
What you said:
“I was struck by the splendid organisation”
“Choices of music were beautiful”
By day:
Double Bass player, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist!
What you said:
“At the venue, the first thing I saw was a smile, someone detailed to welcome me. I was expected, handed a pack of music and directed to a team of delightful smiling people”
Why 5 from 500?
Chris planted the germ of an idea that Martin developed and it came into existence. We envisioned an occasional choral day in which singers would arrive ready to make beautiful music with a handful of great pieces, old and new, some familiar and others not so well known.
The formula worked straight away and has not changed very much since.
After the first couple of events we realised there would always be around 5 pieces included and they would span roughly 500 years, hence 5 from 500 was born!
Of course, rules were made to be broken, so sometimes there are six pieces, and once we almost doubled the 500 year limit!
