Cheryl recently acted as Associate Director with Neil Armfield on the highly acclaimed premiere of Watershed (Joe Twist, Alana Valentine, Christos Tsiolkas) in the Adelaide Festival of Arts, and subsequently for Opera Australia.Cheryl's directing work outside Various People is diverse, and includes productions for Operatu, a partnership between the State Opera of South Australia and Tutti Arts (the acclaimed choral theatre production The Shouting Fence in the Adelaide Fringe Festival; a circus-themed Magic Flute with professional opera singers, a youth troupe from Cirkidz and Tutti artists), as well as productions for Arts in Health at the Flinders Medical Centre and the Royal Institute of Australia. Cheryl has also adapted and directed opera for young artist programs, schools and universities in England and Australia.

Cheryl has extensive performing experience in opera, oratorio, recital and cross-genre music and theatre work, within Australia and in the United Kingdom. She has performed at the Bath International Festival, Tate Gallery St Ives Festival, South Bank Centre, Symphony Hall Birmingham, Greenwich Maritime Museum, with the Lindsay Quartet and for English National Opera's Studio Night series. Cheryl was a founding member of the acclaimed a cappella group The Shout, performing extensively across the UK and appearing in Because I Sing on Channel 4 Television and on their CD, On Arrival. She performs regularly in Adelaide, and has appeared in the Adelaide Festival of Arts, the Adelaide Cabaret Festival and the Festival Centre Sessions and Intimate Music series and the Port Fairy Spring Music Festival. Cheryl performs regularly on the local concert platform, in recital and in opera gala and oratorio performances including appearances in Elder Hall, the Adelaide Town Hall, St Peter's Cathedral and Coriole.Various People’s guitarist Aleksandr Tsiboulski and singer Cheryl Pickering were outstanding in songs by Dusan Bogdanovic and Villa-Lobos’s Bachianas Brasileiras No 5, raising the latter’s passion to a startling heat.The Australian Three songs of Clara Schumann hit home with raw intimacy in the lunchtime concert, Domestic Voices, thanks to fine, committed performances from mezzo-soprano Cheryl Pickering with Anna Goldsworthy at the pianoInDaily Pickering gave the songs a wide emotional range in a fine performance, giving us all of the excitement, joy, wonder and ultimate sadness.Glam Adelaide …sung with haunting evocation by creative producer/mezzosoprano Cheryl PickeringThe Barefoot Review Cheryl Pickering (La Chanteuse) maximised each opportunity to shine: her operatic tones were faultless; truly beautiful. In DailyCheryl Pickering, the epitome of elegance, sings some of his best known songs… with immense grace.The Advertiser

As Artistic Director of Various People Inc, Cheryl has led the organisation in creating productions for the Adelaide Festival of Arts, the Adelaide Cabaret, Fringe and Come Out Festivals, for the Sessions, InSPACE and Intimate Music series at the Adelaide Festival Centre, and for the Port Fairy Spring Music Festival. Various People Inc has provided numerous creative opportunities for emerging and established South Australian artists, and has forged production partnerships with organisations including the State Opera of South Australia, Royal Institute of Australia, FMC Arts in Health, Botanic Gardens of SA, South Australian Museum, Australian Refugee Association and the Graham F Smith Peace Foundation.Cheryl Pickering's excellent Various People has produced many of the most interesting events on the local scene these past couple of years.The Advertiserlike their previous two recent works, certainly confirms Various People’s appetite for the different, the excellent and the innovativeKryztoff RAW...this is an aesthetic work of art... original and moving, and probably the most memorable theatrical production I’ve seen in years...In Daily...beautifully crafted miniatures with only hints of dissonance and darkness… the ideal balance between tension, melancholy, and cantabile...LimelightDirector Cheryl Pickering (has) fashioned a show that radiates colour and warmth…full of memorable moments…a host of exhilarating images…The Advertiser ...an exuberant, physical take on Mozart’s much-loved work... gob-smackingly good...InDaily

Cheryl is a highly regarded and sought after singing teacher, currently specialising in working with professional and advanced classical singers. She teaches classical voice and stagecraft at the Elder Conservatorium of Music, and privately in her own voice studio.

Established with a mission to enrich the community through music, Chamber Music Adelaide (CMA) champions world-class musicianship, promotes the finest quality musical experiences in close, intimate environments and connects South Australian musicians and audiences.As inaugural Chair of Chamber Music Adelaide (2012 – 2019), Cheryl took the organisation from a fledgling group of ensembles to a representative association for the South Australian chamber music sector, securing successive periods of triennial funding, building a strong Board, and leading the development of robust strategic and procedural governance. In this role Cheryl created the award-winning annual event On The Terrace, attracting over 1400 people each day to curated chamber music performances within Adelaide’s four North Terrace cultural institutions.