The Musical Team
Emily Gait-Scaglioni - Musical Director
Emily Gait-Scaglioni is a music teacher, conductor and accompanist living in Barry. Athrawes gerdd, arweinydd a chyfeilydd yw Emily Gait-Saglioni ac mae hi’n byw yn y Barri.
Emily was appointed Musical Director of Barry Ladies Choir in 2024. She also leads Côr Y Galon (With Music in Mind, Cowbridge) and is Principal Accompanist for Canton Chorus.
She has been Co-Musical Director for Spectrum Singers since 2022, having sung with the choir since 2016. She was previously interim Musical Director for Tonyrefail Ladies Choir and also Accompanist and Deputy Musical Director for Penarth Community Choir for 8 years.
Emily studied Music at University of York and has since built up a wide range of teaching experience with Adult Education Services, secondary PGCE training and teaching piano and singing at Forte School of Music.
She studied singing with Kate Woolveridge and loves to sing Jazz and Welsh folk music. Emily regularly covers other choir rehearsals as an accompanist and conductor and has most recently worked with Caerphilly & Llantrisant Male Voice Choirs and Cardiff Chamber Choir.
Emily also enjoys organising collaborative choral events between different community groups, most recently directing a Welsh/Ukrainian Come & Sing Concert, a 200th RNLI Choral celebration and a multi choir concert in Barry for Llamau.
Updated 2026
Christopher Fossey - Accompanist
Christopher Fossey is a musician and teacher currently based in the Welsh capital of Cardiff, working variously as a freelance composer and arranger, accompanist and musical director. He trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and was the recipient of the 2010 RWCMD Composition Prize.
As composer & arranger, Christopher recently worked with Welsh musician Anthony Reynolds on 'A Small Spit Of Land', a large-scale biographical song cycle which was then performed in April 2013 with string players of Sinfonia Cymru and recorded later that year.
As an accompanist, Christopher is in much demand and regularly plays for rehearsals and classes on the MA Musical Theatre course at RWCMD and was also a rehearsal accompanist for their 2012 production of 'The Mystery Of Edwin Drood'. For the Young Actors Studio at RWCMD he is an Acting Through Song tutor and accompanist. Elsewhere, he is the resident accompanist and co-assistant musical director for the South Wales Gay Men’s Chorus who have performed in numerous venues across South Wales and beyond, including recent participation in the Cornwall International Male Voice Choral Festival and a guest appearance at London’s Cadogan Hall.
As a musical director and rehearsal accompanist Christopher has also worked with Youth Music Theatre UK, Orbit Theatre Co. and The Unknown Theatre Co. Future projects include musical director for 'When You Say Goodbye', a new musical based on the songs of Harry Parr Davies and Marguerite Monnot.
Former Musical Directors
Matthew Probert
Musical Director 2015-2024. Matthew was born in Neath, South Wales, and began his Music studies when he took up learning the piano at the age of sixteen. Since then he has gone on to complete both a degree in Music and a Masters in Music Composition at Cardiff University, finishing his education at the end of 2016.
During his undergraduate degree he decided to take up conductingj lessons, and from this went on to become a founding member and Musical Director of the Cardiff University Jazz Choir – a role that he had stepped down from in 2015 after two successful years at the helm. Music and composing are of course Matthew's biggest passions, and during his studies would often write for small-scale ensembles with influences drawing from film, video game, pop and jazz genres. He was also part of the Contemporary Music Group at the university, where he performed and conducted many of his own and other students' compositions throughout many concerts.
Alice Jones
Musical Director 2008-2015
Peggy Weaving
Musical Director