Harmonising Spirit and Sound: All about Kerry
My journey began with music, nurtured by exceptional instruction from childhood. In my mid-twenties, I discovered the transformative power of meditation and Buddhist teachings. Today, I unite these passions, offering a unique approach that harmonises musical expression with spiritual growth.
Composing a Life: Musical Milestones and Memories
Singing
I started singing in my local church choir as a young treble, and then took over as choir master when I was 16. I sang with a number of choirs in my teens including the then Cleveland Youth Choir (now Tees Valley Youth Choir) and the National Youth Choir of Great Britain with whom I recorded a number of albums as a Tenor, including Pearsall Madrigals, and after a Word Tour the World Tour CD in 1996 in which I arranged and guest conducted “Lullaby of Broadway”, recorded in the USA. I then went to London’s prestigious Trinity College of Music as a Tenor first study and piano second study, gaining a BMus(Hons) degree in 2000. I studied and worked in London for 12 years, and as a singer worked in many choral societies and churches as guests soloist and concerts around the city. Roles included Tenor solo in Kurt Weill’s Seven Deadly Sins for London Pride event (Paddington) and Tenor in quarter of Brahm’s Waltzes (Deptford). On moving to Leeds in 2013 I sang with Leeds Cathedral Choirs for various broadcasts with the BBC.
Musical Direction
During my 12 years working in London as a professional musician I worked as a Choral Director for the Equity Union’s Choir, concerts which included conducting at the Royal Albert Hall and the Actors Church, and conductor of Illuminati, a choir performing contemporary music by composer Miriam Mackie amongst others, with whom I recorded their first CD in 2007. With musical theatre groups and singers I was chorus master on recordings “It’s Me” by Lindsey Hamilton and “Dangerous Cabaret: Music and Lyrics by Brett Kahr.” I was MD on a number of Off-West End shows including Anything Goes at the Landor Theatre, Cabaret, Showcase for Italia Conti at the Old Vic, and producer on a number of new artists recordings including a charity CD for the Mother’s Union and a new musical recording of Solomon’s Songs. In Leeds I was the Musical Director of Leeds Beckett University Choir for staff and students until the pandemic years, and then ran school choirs for the Morley Academy in South Leeds for six years.
Nurturing Musical Talent
My teaching experience spans prestigious institutions:
London:
- Guildford School of Acting
- Italia Conti Music Theatre School
- Camden School for Girls
- London Studio Centre
- Bird College
Leeds:
- Morley Academy & Farnley Academy (6 years)
- Singing and piano teacher (ABRSM/GCSE exams)
- SLP College, Garforth (singing coach)
- Private singing and piano coaching in Leeds City Centre since 2015
Qualifications
- BMus(Hons) Degree
- A level Music
- BTec National Diploma in Performing Arts
- ABRSM Grade 8 Piano
- ABRSM Grade 7 Singing & Music Theory
“Throughout my career, I’ve strived to blend my passion for music with a commitment to nurturing talent and fostering musical growth in others.”
Buddhist Bio
A Meditation Journey
Whilst in London in 2004 I felt it was time to look at my mind, rather than blame everyone else around me for everything, and I knew somehow that meditation was the key for me. Around the corner from where I lived at the time was the Jamyang Buddhist Centre London at Elephant and Castle. I started to go to their Monday night meditation classes, and soon became hooked on this pragmatic, yet profound way of changing how we think and looking at what’s on the inside.
I started to go to other classes, and met the resident teacher at the time Geshe Tashi Tsering, a monk from Tibet who taught me so much about practice and meditation, especially in those early days. I met some other great Lama’s over the next few years there including Jangtse Choje Rinpoche (now the Ganden Tripa) and Ven Robina Courtin. Jamyang London belongs to a world wide organisation called the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) and so I began to volunteer for the Centre in London, and shortly after become a member of staff for about two years.
Some time around 2006 I asked my Lamas if I could become a monk, and they agreed. I spent the next two years paying off all my debts, and joined a pilgrimage in 2008 which Geshe Tashi led to India. At Bodhgaya I received my first level of ordination, Rabjung, at the most holy Buddhist pilgrimage site, Bodhgaya. I was now a monk ordained in the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, founded by Lama Tsongkhapa of Tibet, and in the Mahayana tradition (universal vehicle) of Buddhism. As a newbie, I needed to learn with other monks and nuns, so I went to Nalanda Monastery in France. I spent 5 years there studying the FPMT Basic Programme full time, and then another 2 years of FPMT’s Masters Programme. I took full ordination from HH the Dalai Lama around 2011, it was a great privilege to receive the transmission from the ‘Great 14th’, and I’ve been fortunate to take many teachings from him over the years. Now of course we can all watch on YouTube live, much more conformable! At Nalanda, I was also fortunate to be the ‘chant’ master on occasion, using my musical skills, most memorably for Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Khadro-la.
My Nalanda years were intense, powerful, invaluable: I learnt so much in a short period of time from the great Abbott of the monastery, Geshe Lobsang Jamphel. It was tough at times, and I did think of leaving on occasion. But I was so wonderfully supported by the community there and of all the subjects I studied, the lamrim (steps on the path to Enlightenment) by Lama Tsongkhapa was one of the most wonderful to me. Over the years there I met so many wonderful monks. Some would stay for a few weeks, some months, some years. Some passed away there.
For my part, I came back to the UK as monk around 2014 to be the new Spiritual Programme Coordinator at another FPMT retreat Centre in Northumberland, called Land of Joy (from the Tibetan word Tushita). We set up the building for its first retreats and then sometime in the summer of 2015 I went back to the lay life. For me, living as a monastic was an amazing experience but I wasn’t ready for it. I learned so much and would hope to get back to it in some not too distant future life.
I then applied for the post of Director of Jamyang Leeds, and thanks to the kindness of Lama Zopa Rinpoche who continued to look after me during all these changing times, agreed and I started there in September 2015. Jamyang Leeds was then in an office space on St Pauls Street, but the community wanted to buy its own property, so we created a fundraising plan, a vision – and created positive karma wherever we could. Then around 2018 we found a place that was fitting for our vision – a 35,000 sq foot office/warehouse complex in Holbeck, South Leeds. With Lama Zopa’s approval, and with the board of trustees in agreement, we raised funds and bought the building in February 2019. It’s an amazing project and I was very privileged to be there when it was all happening. I stayed there until December 2023 by which time it was a thriving project, and still is to this day.
Presently I’m still living in Leeds and volunteering wherever I can be of help to FPMT. I’m currently exploring a new role as Advisor for Rainbodhi Europe, offering meditation events and support specifically to the LGBT+ Buddhist community around Europe.
Since graduating from the FPMT Basic programme in 2012 I’ve been an FPMT Registered Teacher for In-depth topics, and as a monk if I was asked to teach or lead courses I would always find visual ways to help support understanding. The ‘powerpoint monk’ I was known as at one point! And I still like to do the same, as you’ll see from the Buddhist teaching page. I’ve been asked to teach and lead courses all over the world including the USA, India, Europe and of course the UK. I’m still always listening, studying and meditating myself, and I regularly attend classes by the great masters we have with us today.