Chris Kemp…..

is the founder and principal of Starmakers. He has lived in Harrogate all his life, where he performed on the amateur stage for over 20 years appearing in nearly 45 different productions for the Harrogate Operatic Players, Harrogate St Andrews Players and the Harrogate Gilbert and Sullivan Society. He has also appeared semi-professionally in productions in the North East and West Yorkshire. Chris has trained as a theatre director and is the lead singer in Rhythm-Division, a harrogate based professional band.

Lucy Atkinson…..

works with the Junior group on a Thursday and during the Summer Holiday clubs as well as performing with the Youth Theatre Group. Currently studying Drama at Harrogate Grammar School, she has performed for the past 3 years with Ripon Amateur Operatic Society as well as in productions with school. Not just content with performing on stage, she takes an interest in how things work backstage and recently worked on the production team for the World Premiere of ‘Boiling Frog’ at Harrogate Theatre.

Emily Bell…..

works with the Junior groups on Saturday mornings. Her main passion is Dance but she also has a love for Musical Theatre and the West End. She is currently studying dance at Lynton Academy and is working towards her Advanced 1 Grade in Modern, Tap & Ballet. She also works at Lynton helping out teaching Modern and Tap. Emily has been dancing since the age of 4 and has performed in numerous productions at the Harrogate Theatre, Harrogate Royal Hall and York Opera House. She is currently a student at Harrogate Grammar School.

Mark Taylor…..

joins us to work with the RockStar Choir and the forthcoming group for 12-16 year olds. An accomplished piano player and singer / songwriter, he has a wealth of experience that will benefit those who get the chance to work with him.Throughout his career in music he has performed with many top quality musicians and singers and he is currently part of Rhythm-Division, a Harrogate based professional band.

Harriet Taylor…..

has joined the team for our new group for 12-16 year olds on Monday nights to be the voice of the children, as well as participating herself. She has played the piano since the age of 5, and been involved in extra-curricular singing groups at school since the age of 4 which has lead her to perform in numerous group concerts throughout school. Recently, she joined Chris Kemp to duet live at her dad’s 50th Birthday party. This was Harriets first live performance and has given her a real desire to do more. She has a great love for music which sparked her passion of singing and enthusiasm to be part of the new group.

Michelle Beckett…..

has a theatre degree, and has previously worked as a drama teacher for Stagecoach. She has extensive experience of drama workshops with children in Lancashire & Yorkshire. Michelle has also performed for over 20 years in plays and musicals, including semi-professionally at the Edinburgh Festival.

Samantha Hastings…..

is a trained dance teacher and currently teaches at Harrogate High School. She gained her professional teaching qualification in 2003 from Preston Dance College.  As well as teaching she also ran Diamond Dance School in Harrogate and has a huge amount of experience of working with children. Sam has also performed for many years on the amateur stage with a number of local societies.

We look forward to seeing you soon at Starmakers