The Engelfield Ensemble

As a group we have performed across England at a variety of functions, concerts and private events including Cliveden House in Taplow, The New Rooms in Bristol, Cheltenham Town Hall and many others. We perform music written for piano, clarinet and voice as well as clarinet duo’s and solos, vocal and piano solos and pieces specially arranged for the group. Angela Good (Soprano) read Music at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama; studying voice under Miriam Bowen. In demand as a performer and musician recent roles include Susanna in Marriage of Figaro, Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus, Violetta in La Traviata and Lui in Turandot. Concerts include appearances across the South of England, Soprano soloist with the Marlow Community Choir, Reading Symphony Orchestra, Twyford Singers, Reading Haydn Choir and Radlett Choir and many more regularly singing at weddings and events. She also sings in It's Us 2 a guitar and vocal American Songbook style duo. Nicholas Shipman studied initially with Jack Brymer OBE before gaining a place at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where he studied with Joy Farrall, Michael Whight and Thea King. His studies continued at the Royal Conservatorium for Music in The Hague with Sjef Douwes. He has appeared as soloist with many orchestras and has performed in venues such as the Wigmore Hall, Barbican Hall, Fairfield Halls Croydon, St George’s Bristol, The Purcell Room, Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Cité de La Musique (Paris) and De Doelen (Rotterdam). He has appeared at the festivals of Aldeburgh, Dartington and Cheltenham and the Muziek in de Maartenskerk International Chamber Music series in the Netherlands. He has played concerts throughout the UK, Europe and the USA. Stefan Hofkes was born in the Netherlands where he studied the piano and conducting at the Utrecht Conservatoire under Alan Weiss, Alexander Warenberg and David Porcelijn. He continued his studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. Stefan is in demand as a pianist, having performed in venues such as the Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room and Amsterdam Concertgebouw and has released several CD’s to critical acclaim. He is musical director of the Reading symphony Orchestra and Bristol Concert Orchestra as well as Artistic Director of the Kairos Ensemble, posts he combines with conducting concerts and opera throughout Europe. Karen Ayton studied at Watford School of Music with John Reynolds and Robert Pell before gaining a place at The Royal College of Music in 1985 to study for a BMus degree. She was taught clarinet by Colin Bradbury and Robert Hill. Whilst at the RCM, she specialized in contemporary Classical Music and Chamber Music, co-founding the Charivari Wind Quintet, with whom she enjoyed a great deal of success, performing at venues such at The Royal Albert Hall and 10 Downing Street. Karen has enjoyed a varied career, freelancing as an orchestral and chamber musician, whilst holding various teaching posts. Karen plays clarinet with Reading Symphony Orchestra and chamber groups include The Engelfield Ensemble, The Malbec Clarinet Quartet and Polcas e Boas.