Musical Director, Dr Anita Datta
Dr. Anita Datta takes up the post of Musical Director in January 2026. Anita is an accomplished professional conductor, composer, organist, and soprano, and is an alumna of the prestigious Jette Parker Young Artists programme for Women Conductors. Having recently returned to live in her home county of Yorkshire, she was drawn to the Micklegate Singers’ by the opportunity to work with an ambitious, creatively minded group. “I feel very strongly that as a professional musician, I want to contribute to developing the artistic opportunities on my ‘home’ patch through my work, and give back to the communities that made me who I am.”
What impression did the choir make on her at the audition rehearsal? “It was clear to me that the choir really cares about the relationships and connections between the different members and the conductor, and that’s exciting to me because those connections are the lines along which music making can happen. Without trust, there’s no risk taking, and without risk taking, there’s a cap on creativity. There was a great moment about 20 minutes in where I felt we’d started to build up trust and an atmosphere of play, and in response to a gesture I made the choir suddenly roared like a sports car engine. In that moment, I knew that we could make a really spectacular noise if we had the opportunity to build on that connection further.”
Dr Anita Datta:
Anita is a conductor, composer, organist and soprano, based in her home county of Yorkshire. Founder of the Swan Consort, she is particularly known for her work with voices, and she has written new works for ensembles including the BBC Singers and the National Youth Choir. She is an alumna of the Women Conductors Programme of the Royal Philharmonic Society and the Royal Opera House, and completed a Master’s of Orchestral Conducting from The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama with a Scholarship.
Anita draws extensively on her Indian cultural and musical heritage in her performing and composing, frequently improvising upon raga during solo organ recitals. Recent commissions include raga-based works for the BBC Singers, Multitude of Voices, and an Organ Symphony for contemporary South Asian music organization zerOklassical.
She deploys her Academic expertise in Social Anthropology to further inclusivity in the arts more broadly, sitting on the board of the National Centre for Early Music, and serving as Creative Learning and Participation Producer for the London Handel Festival. She is affiliated as a research associate at both Durham University and the Guildhall School of Music.