The choir is directed by Joanna Eames.
Joanna has been studying music since the age of 11 when she took up the flute and joined West Sussex County Girls Choir. She gained her degree in Primary Education Studies with Music at Reading University, studying the flute under Nick Cartledge and was both a member of the Reading University Singers and conductor of the Reading University Concert Band. After graduating, Joanna worked as a primary school teacher in Crawley, leading successful school choirs and larger scale singing events. She left teaching in 2013 to have a family, and since 2016 has been a peripatetic music teacher with West Sussex Music.
Joanna joined Songbirds as a singer in 2005 and was soon asked to take on the role of Musical Director. During her time as MD, the choir has taken part in a number of exciting events including the BBC programme Last Choir Standing, choir ‘tours’ to the Isle of Wight, an exchange event with a French choir, two community events at The Hawth with multiple choirs (Zimbe! 2013 and Ahoy! Sing for the Mary Rose 2015) and Russell Watson’s touring show Up Close and Personal, also at The Hawth.
