Sam Poppleton is apprentice conductor to the Orchestra of St John's Smith Square and baritone lay clerk at Southwark St George's Cathedral. He is the director of the Zeitgeist Chamber Orchestra and leads choirs for young professionals, amateurs as well as primary and secondary schools. Sam graduated from Oxford University with a First Class degree in Music in 2013 having studied at The Queen's College where he also held the Maurice Pearton choral scholarship. Whilst a member of the Queen's choir Sam recorded the world premier baritone solo on David Bednall's Christmas cantata Welcome All Wonders. In his second year Sam won the conductorship of Oxford University Student Chorus wi th whom he performed termly concerts in the Sheldonian Theatre. Sam has since continued working with choirs and conducted Kensington Brass's performance of Purcell's Funeral Sentence for the Death of Queen Mary and Jongen's Messe en l'honneur du Saint- Sacr ement . During his final year Sam was asked to stand in and conduct Beethoven's Symphony N o.8 for Oxford University Orchestra as part of their Beethoven marathon. Sam spent a year as a lay clerk in Magdalen College Choir. Last summer Sam served as Assistant Conductor to the Amadeus Orchestra as they performed the Elgar Cello Concerto with Raphael Wallfisch, sang with the Aurora Orchestra as part of the Oxford Lieder Festival and dressed up as a tiger whilst working on Music Makers Summer Courses. Sam has taken part in masterclasses with Nicholas Cleobury , Peter Stark and Achim Holub and is continuing his conducting studies with Paul Brough and John Lubbock.