Paul Cook
Musical Director of Vocalis
Paul currently works at Cardiff University School of Music as a practical tutor teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students. In addition, he works as ensemble coach as part the School of Music’s Piano Collaboration Project and, for the first time this year, has accompanied students on the piano at end of year and final recitals.
In 2025, Paul was admitted as Fellow of the London College of Music for his pioneering research on the profound changes experienced by the human voice during adolescence and menopause and the implications for the student and teacher. He is Director of The Menopausal Voice Centre, an online consultancy supporting menopausal/postmenopausal women designing bespoke care pathways to identify strategies to mitigate the symptoms of voice mutation and improve vocal function.
Educated at Chetham's, Paul won an entrance scholarship at seventeen to study at the Royal Northern College of Music Paul's love of choral music began at school when he sang with the National Youth Choir of Great Britain and as choral scholar (and subsequently as lay clerk) at Manchester Cathedral. He subsequently worked as a freelance musician with many professional ensembles including the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, extensive session work with the BBC and contracts with several opera companies and festivals at home and abroad which included five years full time employment at Scottish Opera. He has performed at many of Europe's finest theatres and most prestigious concert venues including Concertgebouw and Teater an der Wien in Vienna. Paul has performed on countless live radio broadcasts on BBC 4's Daily Service programme, choral evensong and live opera broadcasts on BBC Radio 3 and Channel 4.
Paul is in constant demand as a vocal coach working with professional singers, presenters, actors and advanced students seeking to audition at top schools and take higher qualifications. Paul is a practitioner of Estill Voice Training and holds Estill Figure Proficiency certification. He is currently working on the Estill Master Trainer pathway with senior tutors and professionals at RWCMD. He was elected as Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 2017 and holds an MA in Voice Pedagogy in addition to diplomas in piano performance and teaching, pipe organ performance, music theory, composition and vocal performance. Paul was awarded the status of Certified Teacher of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (Voice) with the highest classification of Excellent in 2014 and passed the Licentiate Diploma of the Royal Schools of Music in Vocal Teaching with Distinction in 2024.
Extensive work in the private studio and at Cardiff University is combined with delivering corporate training focusing on a variety of areas of expertise, directing several groups and choirs in addition to work for Gwent Music as singing teacher and tutor in music theory.
In 2010 Paul succeeded Martin Hodson MBE as Musical Director of Gwent Chorale and conducted his inaugural concert with the choir and the Welsh Sinfonia in May 2011.
Paul lives with his wife, Welsh soprano Jill Padfield, and their fourteen year old son in South Wales. His interests, in the little free time he has, include spending time with his family, writing music, keeping fit and playing the piano.