ABOUT US
MEET THE TEAM
FOUNDER & DIRECTOR: KAT BROOKS
If you’ve had any interaction with the choir, you’ll have come across Kat. Founder and leader of the choirs, she is hugely passionate about music – performing, teaching, working with others, singing with choirs, everything.
"I started my Choir career whilst at the University of Exeter studying Drama – when I joined the Uni Soul Choir in 2008 and absolutely fell in love with soul & gospel singing in a big group! The following year me and a friend took the reins of running the choir and it’s all grown since then!
I absolutely love singing in groups – both the full belt style of gospel and soul, as well as getting people involved in community choirs who didn’t think they could – or were told at school that they couldn’t sing and haven’t since! Yes you can!
I also love approaching music in my own style – who wants to sound like the record? I write all the arrangements myself to suit our singers and our styles – often with a bit of a twist!
I started the Leith choir in September 2015, and the other choirs came the following year - I’m extremely proud of what we have achieved, having started from just putting some posters around town, hiring the space myself, and hoping people would come and sing with me. We’ve grown ever since then even persevered all the way through the pandemic (zoom choir anyone?!) to come out on the other side and are now stronger than ever. We’ve hosted our own shows and performances in The Usher Hall, Queens Hall and Assembly Room to name a few of our achievements, as well as singing at other events and for other artists, such as The War And Treaty.
I also perform and work with other musical projects as an artist outside of choir, if you want to you can read about them here:
“Etta & Gladys - Glamour & Grit”, a love-letter to my vocal inspirations Etta James and Gladys Knight, with full band and Pips backing singers from the Soul & Gospel Choir! Sell-out shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in the Jazz Bar 2023, 2024 & 2025.
I perform with my own band under my name and am releasing an EP of original songs - the music is soulful and gritty, heavily focused on vocals and harmonies (surprise surprise) working with singers from the choir! We’ve performed regularly at the Jazz Bar, as well as at the Square Stage of Kelburn Garden Party.
“The Travelling Tent Show” - Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival 2022 & 2023, Crail Jazz Festival and Eastgate Theatre, Peebles. A show celebrating the travelling tent style performances of Ma Rainey and Bessey Smith - songs of traditional jazz & blues, alongside blues queen Nicole Smit, and (Best Band, Scottish Jazz Awards 2023) The Tenement Jazz Band.
“Shona the Musical” - a vibrant original musical from the heart of Africa. I performed as part of the Edinburgh International Festival 2021, the Edinburgh Fringe in the EICC 2022, Edinburgh Multicultural Festival, and on tour - Ayr Gaity Theatre, Aberdeen Music Hall, Edencourt Inverness, Perth Concert Hall, Buxton Opera House. This was one of the hardest shows I’ve ever done (dancing and singing in 5 languages!), but it was absolutely worth all the sweat and tears!
Buckwild - sassy 90s/00s R&B with Adam. We’ve got stomping beats, tight harmonies and riffs for days, as well as all those tunes you forgot you loved!
“Music on the Move”, Slovenia – Musical Director. 2015, 2016, 2018 This was a fantastic project by Zavod Apis which brought groups of young people from different countries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa including people who were refugees together to explore music and culture. My role as musical director was to both run music sharing and song writing workshops as well as turning the whole group into one multi-cultural choir.
Razzamataz Theatre School – Principal (2012-2015). In Exeter I ran the children’s theatre school for three years, which covered singing, dance and drama lessons for children aged 6 – 18. We covered commercial styles like street-dance as well as more traditional musical theatre styles of performance, and enjoyed putting on performances over the years including whole school musicals and performing in the West End in Her Majesty’s Theatre!
The Magic Flute, The Bikeshed Theatre (Exeter) – Musical Director (I re-wrote the opera in a 20s swing style!) Nominated for the Peter Brook Empty Space Award (National Theatre) 2012
You can catch me performing around Edinburgh in many guises with various bands, duos and as a solo performer - so see you soon!
ACCOMPANIST / SECOND IN COMMAND: ADAM MUIR
Adam Muir is an Edinburgh based musician, teacher, performer, & general rogue multi-instrumentalist, and he has been with the Phoenix Soul & Gospel choir since its inception in 2015. He speaks entirely in the third person.
At a young age he learned the piano, hated it, kicked, screamed, dropped it, then decided to re-teach himself so he could impress people by playing Queen songs at house parties. By the end of School, after adding guitar to his arsenal, he was ready to go forth into the world and make noises.
And make noises he did. Having a melange of inspirations, he has been in a steady stream of choirs, jazz ensembles, rock bands and other creative projects. In 2014 he decided to make teaching guitar his primary occupation and has been a full time musician ever since.
He plays guitar (well), piano (competently), saxophone (technically), & sitar (sounds good?).
Since meeting Kat Brooks in late 2015 he has been with the Phoenix Choir steadfast through their rise to glory. From their first show with 20 members in Stockbridge Parish Church, to the Queen’s Hall in July 2019, Adam has been bashing keys, shepherding basses & tenors and occasionally taking a hand in arranging.
5 years later after finally writing his website Bio, he looks forward to his countinued tenure as Admiral Phoenix as the choir continues on to bigger and better things.
Awoooo!
CENTRAL CHOIR LEADER / JOINT SECOND IN COMMAND:
SALLY JAQUET
I am a freelance community musician and performer. My passion and work centers around the belief that music and the arts have the power to improve wellbeing, build strong communities, and shape socially inclusive and thriving societies.
I specialise in choir leading and music-making with children, young people, and vulnerable groups - as well as backing vocals for a variety of bands. Growing up in Leith, Edinburgh, I was surrounded by musical friends and family and learnt how music brings people together. After living in various countries around the world, I moved to London where I received a First in my Music in Development Masters at SOAS
Currently, I live in Edinburgh and as well as one off projects, I work for Love Music, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Phoenix Choir, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Gilmerton Singers - as well as offering private singing lessons.
In the past, I’ve worked for Oxfam, Music in Detention, SOAS World Music Summer School, Eric Liddell Foundation, University of Edinburgh, McOpera, Singing4Fun (Parkinsons UK), Fischy Music, Mita Pujara Evaluation, Creative Futures, PAN Arts, Crisis Homeless Charity, Earth in Common, Hartbeeps and MARSM.
In addition to my community music projects, I am a performing vocalist and backing singer, performing backing vocals for the bands of: Kat Brooks, Microband, Rory Butler, Brownbear, Niki King, Ewan Macintyre, and more. I also have my own music projects with Midi Paul, PALLY, SingSongSupperClub and Choral Stimulation.
