About Paul
Paul Cook currently works at Cardiff University School of Music as a practical tutor teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students. In addition, he works as ensemble coach and as part the School of Music’s Piano Collaboration Project and, for the first time this year, has accompanied students on the piano at end of year and final recitals.
In 2025, Paul was admitted as Fellow of the London College of Music for his pioneering research on the profound changes experienced by the human voice during adolescence and menopause and the implications for the student and teacher. He is director of an online consultancy supporting menopausal/postmenopausal women designing bespoke care pathways to identify strategies to mitigate the symptoms of voice mutation.
Educated at Chetham's, Paul won an entrance scholarship at seventeen to study at the Royal Northern College of Music He subsequently worked as a freelance musician with many professional ensembles including the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, extensive session work with the BBC and contracts with several opera companies and festivals at home and abroad which included five years at Scottish Opera. He has performed at some of Europe's most prestigious concert venues including Concertgebouw and Teater an der Wien in Vienna. Paul has performed on countless live radio broadcasts on BBC 4's Daily Service programme, choral evensong and live opera broadcasts on BBC Radio 3.
Paul is in constant demand as a vocal coach working with professional singers and advanced students seeking to audition at top schools and take higher qualifications. Paul is a practitioner of Estill Voice Training and holds Estill Figure Proficiency certification. He is currently working on the Estill Master Trainer pathway with senior tutors and professionals at RWCMD. He was elected as Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 2017 and holds an MA in Voice Pedagogy in addition to diplomas in piano, pipe organ, music theory, composition and vocal performance. Paul was awarded the status of Certified Teacher of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (Voice) with the highest classification of Excellent in 2014 and passed the Licentiate Diploma of the Royal Schools of Music in Vocal Teaching with Distinction in 2024.
Extensive work in the private studio and at Cardiff University is combined with directing several groups and choirs in addition to work for Gwent Music as singing teacher and tutor in music theory. Paul is the Musical Director of Gwent Chorale and conducted his inaugural concert with them and Sinfonia De Cymru in 2011.
In the little free time that he has, Paul enjoys spending time with his family, keeping fit, writing music and playing the piano. He lives with his wife and fourteen year old son in South Wales.
Paul is a member of the following professional organisations:
Association of Teachers of Singing
European Voice Teachers Association
The British Voice Association
Independent Society of Musicians (ISM)
Royal Society of Arts (Fellow)
