Simon Clulow was born in Derby and began his singing career as a chorister at St. Mary's the parish church of Nottingham where he eventually became head boy. He sang the treble solo in Mendelssohn's Elijah at the then newly opened Royal Centre in Nottingham.

He attended Nottingham Bluecoat School and High Pavement Sixth Form College, and studied with the countertenor John Whitworth - a contemporary of Alfred Deller. He then gained a music degree from Huddersfield before entering The Royal Northern College of Music to study with Richard Hill. As a student there he performed the role of Oberon in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' (Britten) directed by Joseph Ward, receiving a favourable review in Opera Magazine.

 

After college he attended the Britten/ Pears School where he was coached by James Bowman, again in the role of Oberon. He made his operatic debut as Narciso in Agrippina (Handel) at Buxton Opera House in 1992.

 

Simon Clulow on stage at Buxton Opera House

Over the next few years he enjoyed engagements with Scottish Opera-Go-Round as Orfeo (Orfeo ed Euridice-Gluck), City of Birmingham Touring Opera (Les Boreades-Rameau), English Bach Festival Pastore II- (L'orfeo, Monteverdi), Halle Handel Festival as Duca d'Arcos (Masaniello Furioso - Keiser), Batignano Festival as Un Cortigiano (Le Disgrazie D'Amore - Cesti) and Andronico (Agrippina) for Dublin Opera Theatre Company at 24 hrs notice!

The concert work then began to take over, and engagements have included Messiah at York Minster, The Anvil (Basingstoke) and The free Trade Hall (Manchester), Mass in B Minor with Highgate Choral Society, Saul (Handel) at St John's Smith Square, St John Passion (Bach) with Portsmouth Choral Society, The Biber Requiem with Reading Bach Choir, Hail Bright Cecilia (Purcell) with Sheffield Bach Choir, Samson (Handel) at Southwell Minster, Bach Christmas Oratorio with Wells Cathedral Oratorio Society, Pergolesi Stabat Mater with Nottingham Bach Society, St Matthew Passion (Bach) in Aachen, Come ye Sons of Art (Purcell) with the City of Bath Bach Choir and The Yorkshire Feast Song (Purcell) at the York Early Music Festival which was broadcast by Radio 3. He has also performed at the Wratislavia Cantans Festival with the lutenist David Miller.

As a consort singer and professional chorister he has worked with the B.B.C Singers, St Paul's Cathedral Choir, The Gabrieli Consort, Chorus Angelorum, Chapelle Du Roi, Wells Cathedral Chamber Choir and Manchester Cathedral Choir.

In 2001 he became a Vicar Choral at Wells cathedral, arguably one of the finest cathedral choirs in the world. He has been called upon for many solo spots including those on live broadcasts and in the choir's regular recordings for Hyperion and is also a popular soloist with local Choral Societies. Highlights have included a concert with Jools Holland, sharing the podium with Dame Emma Kirkby in Vivaldi Gloria for the Wells Girls Chorister Trust and tours to Holland and Belgium, The Brugge Festival and to Paris where the choir sang mass at Notre-Dame.

 

Simon is also an experienced peripatetic singing teacher and holds a P.G.C.E from Oxford Brookes University.

He has worked for Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire music services and currently teaches at Millfield School and at the Wells Blue School.