With a background in both Classical music and Jazz, Clare toured with The Swingles for 11 years, and is now embarking on other musical ventures. Growing up in Kenya, she has sung in African Gospel Choirs, as well as Gospel Choirs in UK, Jazz Vocal Ensembles, Classical Chamber Choirs, Symphonic Choirs and of course The Swingles. She is a solo jazz singer, improviser, composer and arranger, as well as a workshop leader and educator.

 

Clare taught music theory and harmony at the Academy of Contemporary Music before joining 5 time Grammy winning vocal group The Swingles in 2007. She performed with the group, writing music and making albums for eleven years, having the chance to sing with artists such as Rumer, Jamie Cullum and Labrinth, as well as performing in some of the world’s most prestigious music venues and working with legendary conductors.

 

She has been a guest host of BBC Radio 2’s show The Choir, as well as arranger and vocal coach on the BBC One show Pitch Battle in 2017, working in the final with vocal group Scot Soul and soul legend Chaka Khan.

 

As a singer Clare performs all over the world, as a soloist, in choirs and vocal ensembles, singing Early Music, Jazz, Gospel, Contemporary Classical and Pop, following her love of music from across all genres, from singing backing vocals for Jacob Collier’s Prom Performance in 2018 with the Metropol Jazz Orkester to brand new original tri-lingual, tri-genre setting of Te Deum by John Featherstone across Europe.

 

Clare writes prolifically for vocal and instrumental ensembles, runs workshops and masterclasses, as well as adjudicating vocal competitions around the world. In September 2019 she joined the staff of the Jazz Department of Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she is Faculty Chair of Jazz Voice, teaches improvisation, aural and transcription, vocal jazz and directs the Vocal Jazz Ensemble. She is passionate about empowering singers to achieve their potential within solo or ensemble contexts.