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UEA Music Centre has a dedicated Director of Music, Music Administrator, Music Assistant Administrator and Choir Director, who work together to ensure the smooth day-to-day running of the centre. If you have a query or would like to find out more, feel free to pop into the centre, located in the Music and Media building at the end of The Street, UEA Campus, or contact us at musicevents@uea.ac.uk.
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Stuart Dunlop – Director of Music
Appointed Director of Music at UEA in 2014, Stuart’s commitment to student music spans more than 20 years, first as Assistant Director at Warwick University, then Director of Music at Reading and now Director at UEA. Having been committed for so many years to the idea of making music in, for and with a community, he is keen to help UEA’s thriving culture make a distinctive contribution to music in Norwich and in the region.
Stuart’s conducting career has included work with Hanover Band, Ulster Orchestra, Milton Keynes City Orchestra, Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic and choirs including City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Watford Philharmonic and Milton Keynes Chorale.
He began musical life as a bassoonist, dividing his time between modern and period instruments, playing with Hanover Band, London Classical Players and Alan Hacker’s multi-purpose ensemble The Music Party. He was lucky enough to do a lot of chamber music during this time – a formative influence.
As a contrast to late eighteenth century period instrument playing he founded a contemporary music group, the Parke Ensemble, which he conducted in music by Judith Weir, John Woolrich, Harrison Birtwistle and many others, broadcasting on BBC Radio 3.
He devoted himself to conducting by taking the Royal Academy of Music’s postgraduate course, studying with Colin Metters and Sir Colin Davis before becoming a Conducting Fellow at Aspen Music School in Colorado under Lawrence Foster, Murry Sidlin and Robert Spano.
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Alex Clarke - Music Centre Administrator
Alex has a BA in History and Art History from the University of Nottingham and an MA in Museology from UEA.
After graduating, she worked in the museum sector, before re-joining UEA, as a member of staff, in 2007.
As Music Centre Administrator, Alex works closely with the Director of Music and Choirmaster to organise concerts, manage ensembles, coordinate scholarships and awards, support student-led music making and manage the Music Centre’s facilities.
Alex really enjoys working for the UEA Music Centre and being part of UEA’s thriving music community.
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Tom Primrose - Director of UEA Choir and Chamber Choir
Tom Primrose is a British conductor, accompanist and coach known for his work in the field of vocal music, working with opera, song, and choral repertoire. He studied at Oxford University with Robert Saxton and at the Royal Academy of Music with Michael Dussek and Malcolm Martineau. During this time he won several major prizes for piano accompaniment including the Webb Award, the Dennis Horner Prize at the Kathleen Ferrier Awards and the Rosenblatt Accompanists Prize. He has strong connections with Norfolk where he conducts the UEA Choir and Chamber Choir and acted for a time as Assistant Organist and Director of the Girls’ Choir at Norwich Cathedral. He is Artistic Co-Director of the Southrepps Music Festival. He is on the music staff at Grange Festival Opera where he is currently chorusmaster, and is chorusmaster of the Newbury Festival and the Cambridge Philharmonic Society. His freelance work as an opera assistant takes him conducting all over the world, including Polish National Opera, Korea National Opera, the Mariinsky in St Petersburg, and most recently the Opéra National de Paris where he assisted Susanna Mälkki preparing Berg’s Wozzeck. He has performed as a pianist and conductor in many of the UK’s principal concert halls and festivals, and on BBC television and radio, and has collaborated with leading singers and instrumentalists including Ben Johnson, Jonathan McGovern, Christina Gansch, Susanna Hurrell, Michael Chance, Mary Bevan, Ruby Hughes, Ema Nikolovska, Claire Barnett-Jones, Ellie Laugharne, Jose Maria del Monaco, Javier Camerena, Corrine Winters, Jonathan Bloxham, Ben Baker and Jenifer Pike, amongst many others.
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Rob Mitchell - Music Centre Assistant Administrator
Rob joined the Music Centre team in 2023 after working for nine years at UEA Library and before that in public libraries and local archives. Rob’s passion for both music and history has led to him becoming the official historian of the Norfolk and Norwich Festival, and he is proud to have written and published their official history in 2021.
As Assistant Administrator at the Music Centre, Rob finds being able to play a part in providing musical opportunities to both the UEA and wider communities hugely rewarding.
When not attending concerts or helping facilitate them, Rob can also occasionally be found playing piano in local jazz ensembles.