Ed Cooke is the younger half of a father-son business specializing in the building and repair of church organs. For most of his life he has been based around the town of Westbury, Wiltshire and was at one point the choirmaster of All Saints' church in the centre of Westbury. Following his postgraduate studies in choral conducting at Cambridge, Ed took up the post as Musical Director of Hangzhou Youth Choir in China. He was there for one year, training and recruiting the choristers from all over the city, visiting lots of primary schools, and establishing new choirs with the goal of singing in English. At the end of his year, Ed had raised a choir of 200 children singing to an audience of over 1000. Aside from organ building, Ed is Director of Music at the Church of St Thomas the Apostle in Hanwell, and Youth Choir Director at St Paul's Church, Winchmore Hill. Ed is thrilled to be taking on the role of Musical Director for the Gillingham Singers and is looking forward to much exciting music making in the town and surrounding area.