Sebastian Field — Countertenor
Sebastian Field is a countertenor who is active across the West Country and beyond as an interpreter of baroque music, a recitalist, and as a public speaker. He lives and works in Gloucester where he teaches singing in several local schools, sings in the Cathedral Choir, and was a City Councillor for nine years. Sebastian was the Mayor of Gloucester for the Civic Year 2015-16. He returned to politics in 2019 by winning the Podsmead by-election by just 3 votes!
Having begun his musical career as a chorister at Hereford Cathedral, Sebastian has gone on to sing under conductors including Harry Bicket, Adrian Partington and Kristjan Järvi. He is in demand as a soloist with choral societies, and has performed in festivals in Cheltenham, Ludlow, Bath and St Davids. Sebastian has sung as a soloist in the Colston Hall, Bristol, the Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff, Symphony Hall, Birmingham, and in the Royal Albert Hall.
Sebastian has given song recitals across the country, and specialises in English Song and Renaissance music, which he often performs accompanied by period instruments. As a consort singer he has sung with Ex Cathedra, the Sarum Consort, the John S. Davies Singers and Aldwyn Voices. Sebastian is a founder member of The Proteus Ensemble, directed by Stephen Shellard. He co-directs with Vicki the Vocality Youth Choir, a choir for secondary-school age young people, and he and Vicki founded the City of Gloucester Community Choir in 2016, which takes part in many city and civic events in Gloucester.
Concerts in recent years have included Stravinsky’s Mass with the BBC National Chorus of Wales (subsequently broadcast on BBC Radio 3), Bach’s arrangement of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, with Devon Baroque, ‘a Baroque Christmas’ with Thornbury Choral Society under Dr Steven Kings, and Purcell’s ‘Welcome to all the Pleasures’ and Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the Bath Cantata Group. Sebastian has appeared on BBC4 as a soloist at the BBC Proms, in Bernstein’s Mass, and on BBC Radio 3 as the countertenor soloist in Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms.
More recent performances as a soloist have included Handel’s Israel in Egypt with Worcester Cathedral Chamber Choir, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas in St Laurence’s Church Ludlow, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms with Gloucester Choral Society, Messiah with Bristol Choral Society, and Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater with Vicki Field and the Sine Nomine Consort during the Gloucester Classical Music Festival. Sebastian and Vicki have given several lecture-recitals, including for Dr Warwick Cole, and they have recently formed the vocal group Gaudeamus.
Sebastian and Vicki live in Gloucester where they share their house with two daughters, lots of cats and a staffie dog.
