Graham McCusker – Bass
Graham was born in Glasgow, Scotland and raised in Paisley. Born into a musical family, he began singing at the age of five as a chorister in the Paisley Abbey Choir where he was Head Boy and later a Choral Scholar.
Graham attained his undergraduate and Postgraduate degrees at the Royal Northern College of Music, finishing his 7 years of study there with Distinction in his Masters (MMus). He studied singing with Peter Wilson and Nick Powell. In his second year he was chosen as one of the Apostles for performances and a recording of Elgar’s The Apostles. Performances included concerts at the Bridgewater Hall and a Prom at the Royal Albert Hall. The CD won Gramophone recording of the year, amongst other awards, and reached No. 4 in the classical charts.
Recent highlights as a soloist include performing Schubert’s Mass in G, Bach’s B Minor Mass, Handel’s Messiah, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Brahms’ German Requiem, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle. Graham regularly sings with the BBC Daily Service Singers on Radio 4 and was a Lay Clerk at Manchester Cathedral for over 10 years.
On the opera stage, Graham has sung with Scottish Opera, Buxton Festival Opera and Opera Bohemia.
When not singing, Graham works as a professional composer, and has recently worked for the BBC & HBO, on the series ‘His Dark Materials’ (based on the Philip Pullman books) as one of the Composers and Music Directors. Also recently working with Apple TV and Netflix productions in a similar capacity – the most recent film with his music in it reaching Number 1 in the Netflix charts. Other composition enjoyment comes from writing his own Jazz/Pop music and frequently for Oxford University Press and MacMillan Publishers.
Graham is thrilled to be back singing with the Exon Singers!