Manvinder Rattan was appointed CEO of The Voices Foundation in 2021, an organisation which promotes more and better singing for children through training teachers to lead singing in the classroom, with a particular emphasis on children in deprived areas.
Prior to this, he was Musical Director at John Lewis Partnership where he was responsible for the company’s 15 choirs, orchestra, jazz band and music tuition service. Travel featured strongly in the annual programme with performances in Rome, Venice, Florence, Athens, Dubrovnik, Palma, Lyon, Siena and Sorrento. The chamber choir, The Cavendish Singers, regularly covered services at Westminster Abbey and the orchestra, The Cavendish Ensemble, was voted one of London’s top 10 amateur orchestras by Classical Music magazine.
Manvinder was also appointed Musical Director of Hertford Choral Society in September 2021 and soon after, established Hertford Chamber Choir, creating a rich and varied singing community in Hertford.
Manvinder has been Head of Conductor Training for Sing for Pleasure since 2006, the UK’s largest provider of training for choral conductors, as well as extensive work to enrich the singing lives of children and adults. Its annual Summer School has become a destination event for conductors and singers alike, from all over the world and for the last five years, 100% of respondents have rated its training as good to excellent.
Manvinder was a judge on Gareth Malone’s BBC2 series, The Choir – Sing while you work – and he is still often greeted in the street when there’s a rerun on somewhere. He’s a popular judge for choir competitions, including, in the past, for the BBC Choir of the Year and since 2022, regularly directs Come and Sing events at the Royal Opera House. His expertise is much valued and he is regularly invited to act as a consultant to choirs recruiting new leadership.
Manvinder is Musical Director of Serafine Chamber Choir and Sinfonia, professional ensembles with whom he has released the premiere recording of Oliver Tarney’s acclaimed Magnificat and Don Gillthorpe’s Jazz Missa Brevis.
In 2016, Manvinder was awarded an honorary doctorate by York St John University for his services to music and conducting and in 2021, he was awarded the Fellowship of the Royal Schools of Music in Choral Directing.