Debbie Warren
Debbie trained at the Royal College of Music as a pianist and accompanist. She lived and worked in London for many years before moving to be by the sea in Hastings in 2013.
Debbie has worked in all fields of music during her career from West End theatre to conducting at the Royal Albert Hall. She has played in rock bands, folk groups and jazz bands and given concerts all over the country. In the recording industry she has worked as a session musician and arranger and written music for radio ads. She has over 30 years experience as a piano teacher and has set up and run various musical ensembles and singing groups. She has extensive experience in the world of musical theatre and regularly works as a musical director, rehearsal pianist and pit musician. She has written three full length musicals for children, several pieces for choirs and has an large published catalogue of choral arrangements both accompanied and a cappella.
Musical Director - Theatre
Debbie was musical director for her first show at the age of 16 - Wizard of Oz in her hometown of Ramsgate, Kent. Over the last 40 years she has been involved with more than 200 productions with various theatre companies, both professional and amateur, in and around the London area and more recently in East Sussex.
She worked on Les Mis and Time in the West End and as a rehearsal/audition pianist. In the 1990's she worked with Martin Starkie on various performances of Canterbury Tales, including a concert version starring Fenella Fielding in St Margaret's Church in Parliament Square. She was also musical director for two separate full length productions, the latter of which toured to Germany.
For seven years Debbie was musical director for the annual pantomime at Epsom Playhouse.
Debbie has also worked extensively in Youth Theatre. She worked for seven years for Westminster Theatre Arts Project which was a borough-wide project aiming to get disadvantaged teenagers off the streets and into the theatre. Highlights of the project include performing at the London Palladium, filming at ITV studios on the South Bank and, in collaboration with English National Opera, staging a jazz version of Rigoletto which saw ENO opera singers starring alongside a teenage cast. She was also involved in the Miracles Project which sought to reach hundreds of young people in inner-London boroughs through the performing arts. The performance took place at the Royal Albert Hall and Debbie conducted The London Musici to accompany the singers - a career highlight! Debbie also worked with Best Shot Theatre Company in Wimbledon, Younger Generation in Croydon, Redroofs Theatre School on musical theatre students graduation shows and Centre Stage Theatre School which she set up and ran for eight years with partner Linda Davies. The pair also went on to run Abacus Agency, a theatrical agency for children, teenagers and young adults in film, television and theatre. They relinquished the helm after eleven years and Debbie continued to work for the company for a further five years.
Musical Director - Choirs
Having been a founder member of the Kent Youth Choir when she was at school, choral singing has always been a passion of Debbie's. Whilst at the RCM she had the pleasure of singing under Sir David Willcocks and participated in several choral concerts at the Royal Albert Hall.
As a choir leader, Debbie has worked with many different choirs of all ages and abilities over the years, from school choirs to church choirs, festival winning choral groups and choir entrants in Sainsburys Choir of the Year. In Hastings she was appointed to the International Composers Festival as Assistant Conductor working with the Festival Chorus for the Opening Concert in Sept 2015. In 2018 she ran workshops and conducted a choir of 100 women's voices in a concert of music from the Suffragette movement to celebrate the centenary of women getting the vote.
Debbie was appointed as Resident Musical Director to Sound Waves Community Choir in January 2016.
She is also musical director for Harmony One - a female vocal harmony group based in Hastings. Founded in Jan 2015 they quickly built a reputation for beautiful singing and strong harmonies. She is also Assistant Musical Director for MJ's Choirs The Hastings Town Singers and The Brighton City Singers, and accompanist for four major concerts a year with Concentus Choir in Eastbourne.
To find out more about Debbie visit her website here
Debbie does most of our arrangements and they are available for sale here
