Director
Richard Allum
As of September 2026, Richard Allum assumes the role of Director of The Shopwyke Singers.
Richard has been Assistant Director of Music at Westbourne House School for the past seventeen years, having studied music at Durham University, where he was Organ Scholar at University College.
As a pianist and organist, he has performed as soloist and accompanist throughout the UK, Europe and as far afield as Australia.
Matthew Cooke
Matthew Cooke is our regular concert accompanist.
Matthew was a Music Scholar at Hurstpierpoint College before going up to read Music at Durham, where he was Organ Scholar at University College and studied the organ with James Lancelot at Durham Cathedral.
Following posts at Cranleigh Prep and Ampleforth College he returned to his native Sussex to pursue a career as a freelance musician. He currently teaches piano and brass at Westbourne House School, Dorset House School and St Edmund's School, Hindhead, along with a number of private pupils. He is also an examiner for Trinity College of Music.
Matthew is Director of Music at Petworth Parish Church and is in regular demand as a piano and organ accompanist. Recent engagements include concerts in Edinburgh, Salzburg and in 2019 he performed in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. He is a past Honorary Secretary of the West Sussex Organists' Association.
