Biography
Suzi Digby, recognized as a choral conductor, has performed at prominent venues throughout Britain and the United States while establishing three ensembles: Voce, ORA, and The Golden Bridge. ORA and The Golden Bridge distinguish themselves through an innovative model in which newly commissioned works engage directly with Renaissance compositions.
Born Susan Watts on July 1, 1958, in Tokyo, Digby relocated to England and trained in piano and conducting at King's College, Cambridge. She also resided in Mexico, the Philippines, and for twelve years in Hong Kong, serving there as a radio and television presenter, educator, and performer.
She married Henry Digby in 1980; the union dissolved in 2001, after which she wed the Baron Eatwell, an economist, in 2006 and thereby became formally known as Baroness Eatwell.
A Winston Churchill Fellowship awarded to Digby in 1990 supported travels to the U.S., Canada, Hungary—where she has appeared as guest conductor of the Budapest St. Stephen's Oratorio Choir—and Finland.
In the wake of those journeys she launched multiple British projects devoted to community music-making. These encompass the Voices Foundation, the U.K.'s foremost primary music education charity that advances instruction and choirs rooted in Zoltán Kodály's methods; Vocal Futures, created to build younger audiences for classical choral repertoire; Singing4Success, which promotes choral singing to foster leadership and "accelerated learning" in corporate contexts; and the London Youth Choir, a five-tier structure serving participants aged 8-22 across all ethnic communities in London's 33 boroughs.
Concurrent with these initiatives, Digby built a conducting career. She directed the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in a widely praised 2011 concert, yet her chief distinction lies in founding ensembles that embody her artistic vision, among them the young London chamber choir Voce, co-established with singer and pianist Harry Briggs, ORA in London, and The Golden Bridge in California.
ORA secured a contract with the Harmonia Mundi label and issued several recordings. The ensemble's debut album, Many Are the Wonders, reached high chart positions in Britain in 2017; 99 Words, a 2018 release featuring Voce and works by John Tavener and Roxanna Panufnik, appeared the following year alongside ORA's The Mystery of Christmas. The group returned in 2019 with Desires: A Song of Songs Collection, and in 2022 Digby led ORA on the Harmonia Mundi album Stella: Renaissance Gems and Their Reflections.
She has served as visiting professor in choral studies at the University of Southern California. Designated an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, Digby has also founded or contributed to organizations strengthening choral music in British schools and acts as a Trustee of Music in Country Churches.
In addition to these contributions to British musical life she serves as Official Choral Conductor to The Rolling Stones, with Voce appearing alongside the band at major events including their 2013 performance at the Glastonbury festival.
Born Susan Watts on July 1, 1958, in Tokyo, Digby relocated to England and trained in piano and conducting at King's College, Cambridge. She also resided in Mexico, the Philippines, and for twelve years in Hong Kong, serving there as a radio and television presenter, educator, and performer.
She married Henry Digby in 1980; the union dissolved in 2001, after which she wed the Baron Eatwell, an economist, in 2006 and thereby became formally known as Baroness Eatwell.
A Winston Churchill Fellowship awarded to Digby in 1990 supported travels to the U.S., Canada, Hungary—where she has appeared as guest conductor of the Budapest St. Stephen's Oratorio Choir—and Finland.
In the wake of those journeys she launched multiple British projects devoted to community music-making. These encompass the Voices Foundation, the U.K.'s foremost primary music education charity that advances instruction and choirs rooted in Zoltán Kodály's methods; Vocal Futures, created to build younger audiences for classical choral repertoire; Singing4Success, which promotes choral singing to foster leadership and "accelerated learning" in corporate contexts; and the London Youth Choir, a five-tier structure serving participants aged 8-22 across all ethnic communities in London's 33 boroughs.
Concurrent with these initiatives, Digby built a conducting career. She directed the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in a widely praised 2011 concert, yet her chief distinction lies in founding ensembles that embody her artistic vision, among them the young London chamber choir Voce, co-established with singer and pianist Harry Briggs, ORA in London, and The Golden Bridge in California.
ORA secured a contract with the Harmonia Mundi label and issued several recordings. The ensemble's debut album, Many Are the Wonders, reached high chart positions in Britain in 2017; 99 Words, a 2018 release featuring Voce and works by John Tavener and Roxanna Panufnik, appeared the following year alongside ORA's The Mystery of Christmas. The group returned in 2019 with Desires: A Song of Songs Collection, and in 2022 Digby led ORA on the Harmonia Mundi album Stella: Renaissance Gems and Their Reflections.
She has served as visiting professor in choral studies at the University of Southern California. Designated an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, Digby has also founded or contributed to organizations strengthening choral music in British schools and acts as a Trustee of Music in Country Churches.
In addition to these contributions to British musical life she serves as Official Choral Conductor to The Rolling Stones, with Voce appearing alongside the band at major events including their 2013 performance at the Glastonbury festival.