Alleyn’s School announces Miss Polly May as Director of Music

January 26th 2024

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Miss Polly May as Director of Music at Alleyn’s.

Miss May joins the school from Streatham and Clapham High School GDST, where she spent seven and a half years as Director of Music. Early on in Polly’s Directorship she forged partnerships with various opera houses, including Garsington and the Royal Opera House. Polly provided 27 girls on the stage at the ROH as the Children’s Chorus in Carmen at the ROH for two seasons, giving the girls an incredible experience. She also provided soloists and smaller groups for other operas.

Welcoming Miss May to the team, Head Jane Lunnon said, “With her incredible record in developing musical programmes for all young people whether they are trained musicians or just starting their musical adventure, Miss May is the perfect leader for our talented and dedicated music department. Under her stewardship, I cannot wait to see what the next chapter of Alleyn’s musical story will hold for us.

Miss Polly May, Director of Music at Alleyn’s said, “I’m absolutely delighted to be joining a school with such a wonderful commitment to all genres of music and to nurturing a love of music in every child. I look forward to working with our talented staff and pupils to take the School on the next stage of its musical journey.”

As a professional singer, Miss May has performed extensively across the UK and Europe, including notable soloist appearances at the Edinburgh International Festival and the Proms with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Miss May has sung on more than 60 film soundtracks, as well as singing backing vocals for Take That, Pulp, and Florence and the Machine; fronted by Alleyn's alumna Florence Welch (Spurgeon's 2005). She also arranges music for various vocal ensembles and composes choral music, with a recent anthem being premiered in an Evensong at Wells Cathedral in 2023. Polly is an active Choral Director, having founded The Southwest Songbirds in 2013, a community choir in Earlsfield that performs a diverse repertoire at various events and festivals. Polly studied music at Edinburgh University, specialising in singing, composition, and orchestration before furthering her vocal studies as a Mezzo-Soprano, at Trinity College of Music.

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