Jason Ellis, MMus, was appointed as Deputy Musical Director following the death of Owen Maelor Roberts in December 2025.
Jason, originally from West Yorkshire, studied piano at the Leeds Conservatoire. In 2005, he moved to Merseyside and achieved a BA in music from Liverpool University in 2008. During this time he won several local piano competitions and began taking on students and accompanying the Liverpool University singers. This led him to embark on a career as a self-employed working musician. From 2008 to 2012 teaching and working as an accompanist were his main sources of work.
In 2010, he was appointed as principal accompanist for the Fron Choir. This role involved Monday and Thursday rehearsals and frequent concerts, which became the foundation of his work schedule. The appointment provided Jason with a wonderful opportunity to develop his sight-reading skills, perform on prestigious stages, how to arrange music for choir, and collaborate with other guest performers. He also participated in recording for TV, live radio. The regular Fron concerts, soon became affectionately known as ‘Froncerts’ amongst friends and family.
Through this time with the Fron, Jason gained valuable experience in managing a choir in musical and administrative ways. This experience led him to launch his own local choir, the Mersey Wave Choir, now a 76-voice SATB group. He has also taken on appointments as musical director of other local choirs and currently works with four on a permanent basis and helps out with others where possible.
During the COVID pandemic, Jason worked on a system that brought singers from various groups together for a series of virtual choir recordings. These recordings were released as albums and broadcast on Classic FM. But most importantly, Jason maintained contact with all the singers through the lockdowns, retained support networks, and continued the routine of choir rehearsals through online livestreams. When restrictions were lifted, the groups were able to resume their activities with numbers that matched their pre-pandemic levels.
The choir also provided opportunities for Jason to work in the studio. He produced guide tracks, collaborated with the choir’s producer and musical director during the recording process, and ultimately made finished products for release. This experience and his work during the pandemic contributed to the decision to pursue a master’s in Media Composition and has since began producing music for film/TV scores and releases cinematic, orchestral, and nature-inspired music under the name LyreLaike.
Jason has been delighted to play for the choir on numerous tours, including Ireland, Austria, and Malta. Jason has also participated in all their competition entries since 2010.