Nicholas Alston CBE DL LLD (Honorary) MA
Nick is an Essex man and a keen chamber choir singer. He has been based in Chelmsford, where he met his wife Philippa, for nearly 60 years. He has sung with many local choirs including the choir of Chelmsford Cathedral and, many years ago, the Chelmsford Singers. He now sings regularly with the Stondon Singers. After graduating from Cambridge University and while living away from Chelmsford, he has sung with Portsmouth Cathedral choir, with several choirs in Northern Ireland, with a renowned chamber choir in Washington DC and more recently at Hong Kong Cathedral. A former naval officer and crown servant, Nick was appointed a CBE in 1996, a Deputy Lieutenant for Essex in 2017, and was awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws at Anglia Ruskin University (where he is Vice Chair of the Governing Board) in 2021. He is Chair of Essex Community Foundation and served as the 2022/23 High Sheriff of Essex.
