Frances Henderson

I was a chorister for eight years, leaving in 2007 after having been one of a handful of girl choristers who stayed on through Years 10 and 11. I was Deputy Head and Head Girl Chorister during my time, and sang under Malcom Archer, Rupert Gough and Matthew Owens.

I have extremely fond memories of my time as a chorister and truly believe it is the best musical education I could have hoped for. I went on two choir tours with Wells; France and the Low Countries in 2002, and Paris in 2006 singing in world famous sites such as Sacré-Coeur and Notre-Dame. I had the great honour of performing live with Dame Emma Kirkby, as well as Jools Holland and His Rhythm and Blues Orchestra, and recorded CDs most summers.

I went to Strode College for A-Levels and then to DeMontfort University in Leicester where I read Criminology. After graduating I lived and worked in Bristol for six years as a Legal Secretary in a firm of Solicitors, and joined Exultate Singers (led by David Ogden) who I would highly recommend to anyone living in or near Bristol. We performed regularly, recorded a CD, and toured to Portugal, Sicily and Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro.

Life took a few unexpected twists and turns and I moved to Weston-super-Mare in 2017. I joined the police as a Special Constable (voluntary and part time) in 2019 and loved it so much I joined full time in 2020 and am now PC 1728 Henderson working in Response from Burnham-on-Sea police station. I am on the front line of policing, attending 999 calls as they come in which is challenging but also immensely rewarding, exciting and varied. I am shortly moving to CID for a 12 month placement working in plain clothes with detectives investigating more serious crimes (e.g. life-threatening assaults). If the placement goes well I will be given the opportunity to sit the relevant exams and become a Detective Constable which is very exciting.

Sadly, due to the nature of shift work, I had to leave the Exultate Singer but sometimes moonlight back to Wells to sing with Schola Cantorum. Walking into the Cathedral always feels rather like returning home and being able to don a cassock and sing Evensong in the Quire again is truly wonderful.

Meeta Raval

Meeta Raval (pictured above) was one of the first girl choristers at Wells in 1994 (Wells Cathedral was only the second in the country to admit girl choristers into its Cathedral Choir). Meeta left the choir in 1996 but the singing bug had bitten and she went on to study singing, gaining an place at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and then the Royal Academy of Music, before joining the prestigious National Opera Studio in 2009.

In 2012, Meeta took to the stage as Cio Cio San in Anthony Minghella’s production of Madama Butterfly at the English National Opera and sang Donna Anna in Opera North’s Don Giovanni. In 2013, Meeta performed the solo soprano in Verdi’s Requiem at the Sage Gateshead, Newcastle. This same year, she made her recital debut at London’s Barbican Hall with a Puccini Gala and sang at the Royal Festival Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall and Manchester Bridgewater Hall in a series of ‘Simply Gershwin’ recitals with the London and Manchester Concert Orchestras.

Meeta’s many accolades include becoming a world finalist at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2011 (pictured above), and winning the Dame Eva Turner Prize for “a soprano with dramatic potential”. She was the inaugural prize-winner of the Royal Academy of Music Pavarotti Prize. She was also the recipient of the Independent Opera Award.

Jeremy Lloyd

Jeremy Lloyd (chorister 1999-2004) recently made his West End debut in the box office smashing hit The Comedy About A Bank Robbery at the Criterion Theatre.

On leaving Wells Cathedral School, Jeremy (here pictured on the far right as his character, the hapless Office Randall Shuck) won a place at LAMDA (the prestigious London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art) having been awarded the Boris Karloff Charitable Foundation Scholarship.

Jeremy's theatre credits include Princess Ida (Finborough Theatre), How Many Miles to Babylon? (Lyric Theatre Belfast), Springs Eternal, The Breadwinner, The Man Who Pays the Piper (Orange Tree Theatre), The Busy Body (Southwark Playhouse), Angry Young Man Angry Young Woman (Arcola Theatre), A Christmas Carol Suite (NYJO at Ronnie Scott’s), Giant Leap (Pleasance Edinburgh), and Unearthed (Arcola Theatre/Brewhouse Theatre/West Country Tour). He starred in the black comedy horror film The Hatching (Sabre Films) and played the role of Benjamin Britten's school friend, David Layton, in Benjamin Britten: Peace and Conflict (Capriol Films).

About his performance at the Criterion, the Official Theatre review said: 'The pure inventiveness and innovation behind this play is what makes it such a blinding success ... with newcomer Jeremy Lloyd absolutely stealing the show as the overworked, distressed Officer Randal Shuck’.