Britten has been an huge influence on me. As a young treble at St. Paul's Cathedral and in Opera Houses, I was so energised by his life and his music. Now, as the Director of Music at Aldeburgh Music Club, which Britten formed with Peter Pears and Imogen Holst in the 1950s, and also as a Community Team Ambassador at Britten Pears Arts, I am delighted to be able to work with their legacy in my home county of Suffolk and beyond.

Tom Appleton is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of the Come and Sing Company (www.comeandsingcompany.co.uk), Director of Music at Aldeburgh Music Club and a Britten Pears Arts Community Team Ambassador.

Formerly a chorister at St. Paul's Cathedral and a soloist in the BBC Proms with the Monteverdi Choir, Tom works as an educator, presenter, singer, workshop leader and choir trainer.

Future plans include conducting the world premier of Bob Chilcott's children's opera Birdland for Norfolk Music Hub and using Benjamin Britten's Noye's Fludde as a community cohesion tool in coastal communities with Britten Sinfonia.