Cameron Mackintosh & Mary Hammond Take On New Roles At The Stephen Sondheim Society

Producer Sir Cameron Mackintosh and internationally acclaimed vocal coach Mary Hammond have accepted roles at The Stephen Sondheim Society.

Sir Cameron has accepted an invitation to become a Patron of the Society alongside Stephen Sondheim, Barbara Cook, Julia McKenzie, David Kernan, Millicent Martin and Stuart Pedlar.Cameron's association with the works of Stephen Sondheim go back a long way - indeed, his first international success was Side By Side By Sondheim in 1976. He has gone on to produce many of the most successful shows in the history of musical theatre, including Cats, Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera. In addition to being a producer he owns seven theatres in London's West End, the Queen's, Gielgud, Prince of Wales, Novello, Prince Edward, Noël Coward and Wyndham's.

Mary Hammond joins the Society's Board of Trustees, which oversees the management of the Society. Mary is no stranger to the Society, and has been involved with, among other things, the annual Stephen Sondheim Society Student Performer of the Year Competition. Following her training at the Royal Academy of Music in both singing and piano, Mary spent twenty five years as a singer with an almost unique range of styles, from opera at Covent Garden to stadium gigs with groups including Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd and Roxy Music. She also worked and recorded extensively for TV and radio (film scores, TV series, live broadcasts, BBC Big Band, Top of the Pops, Jingles etc..,) and now television companies and record producers frequently use her as a vocal trouble-shooter and singing consultant. In 1993 she established the post-graduate Musical Theatre course at the Royal Academy of Music, and within the industry she has worked on such shows as Billy Elliot, Rent, A Little Night Music and Sweeney Todd.

More details about The Stephen Sondheim Society can be found on their website, www.sondheim.org, and on Twitter: www.twitter.com/StephenSSociety