Over the years, many soloists have sung for the society, and here are
some of them. As the concerts go by, we are adding more names to this page. They are in
alphabetical order.
*please note - if any soloists wish to have their
photos added to this page or amend their details, please email

Adam Green, Alan
Eost, , Alison Hudson,
Alistair Digges,
Andrea Ryder-Smith, Anita Wiencelewski,
Anthony Wright,
Ben Davies,
Carey
Williams,
Cari Searle,
The Choir of Leeds Parish Church,
Christopher Foster,
Christopher Wray,
Christopher Wright,
Claire Strafford,
David Townend,
David Houlder,
Debra Morley,
Donna Bateman
Elizabeth Roberts,
Elizabeth Watts,
Hannah Mason, Jan Townend, Janet Bennett,
Janet Fairlie,
Jason Darnell,
Jennifer Westwood, Jeremy
Dawson, Joanne Boddison, Jo
Dwyer, John
Dunford, John
Lofthouse, Jonathan Gooing,
Karina Lucas,
Kathryn Woodruff,
Kevin Spence,
Margaret
McDonald, Martin Hindmarsh,
The McAuley Chamber Choir,
Monica Law,
Nick
Sales, Nicola Mills,
Nigel
Boucher,
Nigel
Gyte,
Paul Dutton, Peter
Heginbotham, Quentin
Brown, Rachel Anne Oakes, Rebekah
Coffey, Ronald
Law, Samantha
Hay, Stephen Brown,
South Yorkshire Symphony
Orchestra
Adam Green, bass
was born in
Harrogate and studied at Uppingham School and St John's College, Cambridge, where he was a
choral scholar. He recently graduated from the Royal Academy of Music and currently
studies at the National Opera Studio. He has won numerous prizes and scholarships
including ones from the Great Elm International Singing Competition and the Ian Fleming
Trust. He regularly performs oratorio in major venues,
most recently in the Royal Albert Hall with Sir David Willcocks and abroad in Frankfurt
and Budapest. Operatic roles include Aeneas in Purcell's Dicta and Aeneas Guglielmo in
Mozart's Cos, Fan Tutte.
Adam has given recitals at St Martin-inthe-Fields, and the Linbury Theatre, Covent Garden.
He has taken part in master classes at the Aldeburgh Festival and the Britten-Pears
School. Future engagements include Faur&s Requiem in Florence and Rome, Beethoven92s
Mass in G in Austria and master classes in the Wigmore Hall with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.
Alan Eost, solo piano
was
born in London and educated in Essex. At fifteen be became one of the youngest ever
Associates of the Royal College of Music. He read Mathematics and Music at Cambridge where
he gained an MA degree. He has performed in a variety of venues including the Royal Albert
Hall, the Royal Festival Hall, Buxton Opera House, Huddersfield Town Hall, Southwell
Minster and Sheffield Cathedral, as well as Vienna Konzerthaus. He has also appeared on
BBC Television. In 1987 he decided to work as a freelance musician. Alan has been
conductor of the Sheffield Oratorio Chorus since 1986 and has established a thriving and
versatile choir. He recently directed an exciting and memorable performance of Fanshawe92s
African Sanctus which included the Sunduza Dance Theatre from Zimbabwe. In addition to his
considerable ability as a conductor, he has acquired a well deserved reputation as a
keyboard player (piano, harpsichord and organ) and is in considerable demand throughout
the region as a soloist and accompanist. He is a member of staff of the Sheffield Music
School and is a teacher of piano at the University of Sheffield.
Alison Hudson, mezzo-soprano
was
born in Doncaster and graduated from the Royal Northern College of
Music. Along with the coveted Decca Kathleen Ferrier Prize she has
won a number of awards and gained international recognition in the
Peter Pears Awards. Among her operatic roles was her notable
international debut as Cherubino in
Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro for Leipzig Opera. A regular
performer on the concert and recital platform, Alison made her
London debut at the Barbican in Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis.
She has an extensive repertoire, ranging from the Handel oratorios
and the Bach Passions to the works of Tippett and Elgar. Recent
performances include Elgar’s Music Makers and Sea Pictures
and a memorable live relay of Messiah for BBC Radio 3
together with solo appearances with the London Bach Choir. Last
summer marked her thirteenth consecutive season performing with the
New Spa Orchestra in Scarborough where she is able to cross over
into the West End musicals. Last autumn Alison appeared in concert
with Marilyn Hill Smith in Durham and will soon return to the North
East for a gala evening at Auckland Castle. Future oratorio
engagements include Bach’s Magnificat and Elgar’s Dream of
Gerontius. Alison is also looking forward to appearing at the
Civic Theatre on May 21st.
was born in Glasgow and received his early musical training in the
RSNO Junior Chorus and as a horn player in the National Youth Orchestra
of Scotland. He is currently a pots-graduate student at the Royal
College of Music (Robertson and Sir James Caird scholarships), studying
under Ryland Davies. He previously studied at the Royal Scottish Academy
of Music and Drama.
His extensive experience as an oratorio soloist includes, most recently,
Haydn’s Creation, Britten’s St Nicolas, Mendelssohn’s Elijah and
Handel’s Israel in Egypt. On stage he played the role of Snout in
Britten’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, Soldato and Famigliari in
Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea, Dumain in Love’s Labour’s Lost
and sang for Opera on a Shoestring in their Viennese series.
Forthcoming engagements include performances with the Edinburgh Singers,
Paisley Philharmonic Choir and Stainer’s Crucifixion in York Minster.
Andrea
Ryder-Smith
Andrea studied Voice at the Birmingham Conservatoire and graduated with
a First Class Honours Degree and a Postgraduate Diploma in Vocal
Performance. Operatic roles for the Conservatoire include Sinaide
(Rossini – Mose), Polissena (Handel – Radamisto), Susannah (Mozart –
Marriage of Figaro) and Fire and Nightingale (Ravel – L’Enfant et les
Sortileges.) She was the winner of the Conservatoire’s Oratorio prize
and regularly performs as a soloist with choirs throughout the country.
Since graduating Andrea has toured extensively with the Carl Rosa Opera
Company in the Mikado, Iolanthe, Yeoman of the Guard and Die Fledermaus
where she covered the role of Rosalinda. She has also worked with Mid
Wales Opera (First genie- Magic Flute) and with Opera Brava (Miss
Silverpeal – The Impresrio.) She sang for the Professional Opera Company
at the Buxton International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival and has also
performed the role of Phyllis (Iolanthe) at the Woodthorpe Festival.
Andrea’s concert work remains varied and includes performances for The
Ensemble and Oxford Philomusica at the Royal Festival Hall and the
Purcell Rooms. She has also spent two seasons performing at the
Thursford Christmas Spectacular! She regularly performs as a soloist at
charity and corporate events.
Anita Wiencelewski, soprano
was born in Rochdale. After graduating in German at Durham University she studied for the
Postgraduate Certificate in Education at Manchester University. She has studied singing
with Olive Valentine, Moira Witty and Sybil Chambers. She has taken part in masterclasses
with Peter Chase and Robert Hayward. Anita performs regularly as sub principal soprano
with the St Peter's Singers in Leeds, the St Oswald's Singers in Thirsk and the Rudgate
Singers. Many solo performances throughout Yorkshire include: Bach's Mass in B minor,
Christmas Oratorio and Magnificat, Durufle's Requiem, Handel's Messiah and Brockes
Passion, Elis Pehkonen's Russian Requiem, Pergolesi's Stabat Mater and Vivaldi's Gloria
(both versions). She has given recitals of church music in Germany and also sings Lieder.
Future engagements include Handel's Samson.
Anthony Wright, bass
graduated from the College of Ripon and St John where he successfully undertook a Master's
degree in performance (voice) and composition. To supplement the course he sang as a Songman for the choir of York Minster. Throughout the past twelve years he has sung in
many concerts performing both solo baritone repertoire and as a bass soloist for choral
ensembles in the north of England. Most notable works have included Bach's St John Passion
and Wachet Auf, the Requiems of Mozart and Faure, Haydn's Nelson Mass, Barber's Dover
Beach and Vaughan Williams' Five Mystical Songs. He is currently Head of Music at Wales
High School, Rotherham.
Ben Davies, bass
studied at the Royal Academy of Music with Mark Wildman and Antony Saunders. Whilst
at the Academy he won the Oratorio Prize and the Henry Cummings Prize. He appeared in a
number of operatic productions including Le Rossignol by Stravinsky, and covered the role
of Antonio in The Marriage of Figaro for John Copley and Sir Colin Davis. He has performed
with choral societies throughout the country in a variety of venues such as St John's,
Smith Square, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Wakefield and Ripon Cathedrals and the Sheldonian
Theatre, Oxford. His extensive repertoire includes works such as Bach's St John Passion,
the Requiems of Brahms, Mozart and Faure, Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle. Elgar's Dream
of Gerontius and Kurt Weill's Der Jasager. Ben is a lay clerk at the Brompton
Oratory and also sings with The Sixteen and The Monteverdi Choir. Future engagements
include a tour of Spain and a performance of Mendelssohn's Elijah in Norwich.
Carey Williams,bass
was brought up in north Wales. He studied singing at Bretton Hall
with John Highcock and soon established a reputation for oratorio.
Formerly Head of Music at Balby Carr School he specialised in the
production of operas, including Mozart and Rossini, and introduced
significant innovations with the use of music technology. Now, working
freelance he continues to teach singing and theory, and is increasingly
available as a soloist and accompanist. Recent performances have
included Songs of the Fleet (Stanford), Messiah, Hayden’s Creation and
Faure’s Requim. He regularly accompanies Isle Choral Society. Currently
Carey is very much enjoying the challenge of studying for a Master of
Music at Sheffield University and is receiving singing lessons from
Carol Smith. As part of this course he has studied and edited some
Telemann Cantatas, which were presented at a memorable concert at
Hallgate in September. His degree recital was previewed at the D.A.M.S.
lunch-time concert in October. Carey will again sing with this society
in March (Mozart and Salieri Requiems) and prior to that with Sheffield
Oratorio Chorus (Mozart Solemn Vespers and Haydn Maria Teresa Mass). He
is also involved in developing an attractive holiday venue at his
parent’s former Snowdonia home.
>> visit Carey
Williams website
top of page
Cari Searle, contralto
was born in Yorkshire and read music at Sheffield University before
studying at the Royal Northern College of Music with Glenville
Hargreaves, supported by the Peter Moores Foundation and the Countess of
Munster Musical Trust. Whilst at the RNCM she participated in
masterclasses with Benjamin Luxon, Roger Vignoles, Brigitte Fassbaender
and with Dame Gwyneth Jones at the Royal Opera House.
Cari made her operatic debut in 1996 as Florence Pike in British Youth
Opera’s production of Albert Herring in London and in the same year
performed Bianca in the Fiftieth anniversary production of the Rape of
Lucretia at the Snape Maltings Concert Hall with the Britten Pears
School under the baton of Steuart Bedford. She has subsequently sung the
roles of Baba the Turk (The Rake's Progress) and Amastris (Xerxes) for
British Youth Opera. Having sung the role of Suzuki (Madama Butterfly)
for Opera Holland Park in 2000, Cari returned in 2001 to perform Un
Musico (Manon Lescaut) and Rosina (Il Barbiere di Siviglia). In 2004 she
performed the role of Suzuki at the Longborough Festival with Opera
Project and this year she has covered both the roles of Rossweisse in
Die Walkure and Wowkle in Fanciulla del West for the Royal Opera House.
Cari has also performed Mrs Noye in Noyes Fludde and excerpts of
Mercedes, Dalila, Ariane in Ariane et Barbe-Bleu, Annina in La Traviata
and Musetta in Leoncavallo's La Boheme.
Her concert repertoire includes Bach Magnificat, Christmas Oratorio, St
John Passion; Duruflé Requiem; Handel Messiah; Mendelssohn Elijah;
Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle; Elgar Dream of Gerontius; Verdi Requiem
and Copland In the Beginning. She has sung with Manchester Camerata and
the Orchestra of the Golden Age in Manchester Cathedral. As well as the
Messiah at the Brangwen Hall, she has also sung Elijah and the Mass in B
minor at the RNCM Concert Hall. Forthcoming concerts include Mozart
Requiem, Salieri Requiem, an opera gala for Opera South and a concert
performance of Die Walkure at the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford.
She has also performed song-cycles with orchestra; Sea Pictures with
Chester Philharmonic Orchestra, Des Knaben Wunderhorn and
Kindertotenlieder with Derby Concert Orchestra, and Lieder eines
fahrenden Gesellen as part of the principal's concerts at the RNCM. Last
year Cari performed Mahler 3rd Symphony with Hertfordshire Youth
Orchestra and assembled choirs. This year she has given recitals at the
Royal Opera House comprising of American music and English song
programmes.
Cari has been successful in several competitions: Most recently in
December she won the Wagner Society’s 2006 Ralph Wells award for
dramatic singers. She was a prizewinner in the 1998 National Mozart
Competition and a prizewinner in the 1995 Frederick Cox Competition for
singing. She was the second prizewinner in the 1996 Leslie and Dorothy
Blond Award for Lyric Dramatic Singing and was a finalist in the
prestigious Kathleen Ferrier Awards in the same year.
In June 1996 she was awarded the Professional Performance Diploma from
the RNCM with merit and was subsequently awarded the RNCM Curtis Gold
Medal for singing.
The Choir of Leeds Parish
Church
was re-formed under the Vicariate of the redoubtable Dr Hook. On the
opening of Hook’s new church in 1841, choral services were established
on weekdays as well as Sundays – a tradition sustained today although
there is no residential choir school. The boys singing tonight come from
the following schools: Michael, St Peter’s C of E Primary, Andrew,
Cardinal Heenan RC High, Toby, Fulneck School where he is a music
scholar. A recent anonymous donor has gifted a scholarship in grateful
memory of Dr Roger Bullivant – part of an effort to raise £500,000 to
secure the choir’s future.
Christopher
Foster,
bass
was educated at Newcastle University and the Britten-Pears School for
Advanced Musical Studies and was a winner of the N.F.M.S. Young Concert Artists'
Award. He has sung in major venues throughout the UK and Europe, performing with
orchestras such as the BBC Symphony and Concert Orchestras, the Britten Sinfonia
and Chapelle Royale and has worked with Pierre Boulez, Sir Andrew Davis, Trevor
Pinnock and Joshua Rifkin among others. Notably he took part in the first
English performance of Messiah in Beijing. Christopher has twice
performed Bach’s St Matthew Passion at the Proms. Broadcasts in France
and Belgium include Bruch’s Schön Ellen, the world première of
Donizetti’s cantata Christopher Columbus, Schumann’s Manfred and
Stravinsky’s Le Rossignol (both at the Royal Festival Hall) and the world
première of Britten’s The Rescue of Penelope. Among his many operatic
roles are Count Almaviva in Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro, Don Alfonso in
Così fan tutte and Arthur in Maxwell Davies’ The Lighthouse.
His recordings include Purcell’s Timon of Athens
(Trevor Pinnock) and Bach’s Cantata 34 (Sir John Eliot Gardiner) both for
Deutsche Grammophon. A busy schedule lies ahead with Bach’s Christmas
Oratorio and Cantatas, Mahler’s Symphony No. 8, Brahms’
Requiem and a lunchtime recital of war related songs in the Banqueting
House, Whitehall to name but a few.
Christopher Wray,
baritone
Christopher’s earliest musical experiences were in
Doncaster when he attended the William Appleby Music
Centre and
played in the Beechfield Youth Orchestra. He first studied singing
with Carey Williams, before being accepted at Trinity College of
Music, London where he studied with soprano Laureen
Livingstone and
international vocal coach Helen Yorke. There his performances with
the Opera Group included Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro)
and Seneca (Monteverdi’s Coronation of Poppea). As a member
of the Early Music Ensemble he discovered a love for the early
repertoire and has performed with groups in London including The
Marisienne Consort, The Rose Consort of Viols and his own co-founded
ensemble El Escorial. Last year he was invited to coach the vocal
chamber music course at Dartington International Summer School and was then invited by Emma Kirkby to join the prestigious
Consort of Musicke. He now studies with baritone Russell Smythe and
divides his time between London and Somerset where he currently
teaches at Wells Cathedral School. Recent performances include
Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas (Aeneas), Monteverdi Vespers of
1610, Duruflé Requiem and Bach’s Mass in B
minor. His future plans include a solo recital in London and a
semi staged performance of Handel’s Acis and Galatea.
Christopher Wright,
bass
has established himself as a principal bass with a number of companies in
and around London, although he was born and raised in Yorkshire. He developed
an interest in music at schools in York and Durham, before attending Bristol
University, where he studied German. Currently touring theatres and stately
homes with productions of Cosi fan tutte and Rigoletto, Chris
enjoys a varied repertoire of over 25 operatic roles, including Mephistopheles
(Faust), Daland (The Flying Dutchman), Osmin (Seraglio),
Rocco (Fidelio), Leporello (Don Giovanni), Papageno & Sarastro (The
Magic Flute), Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro). Chris's other
engagements this year include concerts of lighter music by George Gershwin,
Jerome Kern, Ivor Novello, and Cole Porter. Chris is a keen oratorio singer,
with a repertoire including Mozart's Requiem and Solemn Vespers,
Howells' Requiem, Handel's Messiah, Solomon and Dixit
Dominus, Britten's Rejoice in the Lamb, the solo Bach cantata, Ich
habe genug, and most recently Jesus in Bach’s St John Passion. Chris
currently studies privately with baritone Stephen Roberts. Future plans include
performances of Rigoletto in Newbury, Cheltenham and Bath, the title role in a
production of Donizetti's Don Pasquale, concerts in Walton on Thames,
Egham and Marlow, and a performance of Mendelssohn's St Paul
in Chiswick.
Claire Strafford,
soprano,
comes from a musical family; her mother was a
professional singer and her father was an organist, choirmaster and Hull
City Organist. She studied at Leeds College of Music and later qualified
as a teacher. For many years she has been an active oratorio soloist and
has an extensive repertoire, from Handel’s Messiah to the Verdi Requiem
and major twentieth century works including Rutter’s Gloria, Britten’s
Rejoice in the Lamb and Duruflé’s Requiem. These have taken her all over
the country: to Wimborne Minster, Norwich Cathedral, Bangor, Ripon and
the city halls of Birmingham and Leeds. A particular highlight of her
career was to sing the soprano soloist in the Rutter Requiem under the
composer’s baton. Claire gives recitals of English song and enjoys
singing in small ensembles with other singers and instrumentalists. She
lives at Kilburn near Thirsk and teaches solo singing at Queen Mary’s,
Baldersby Park and Ripon Cathedral Choir School. Among future
engagements are; Jonathan Willcock’s Lux Perpetua, a recital of English
song (Ripon Cathedral) and the Schumann Spanische Lieder.
David Houlder, organ
was from 1981 to 1999 Director of Music at
Liverpool’s historic Blue Coat School. In 1987 David was appointed
Sub-Organist of Liverpool Cathedral, latterly combining that position
with a freelance career, both as recitalist, accompanist and orchestral
accompanist. He has appeared in concert regularly with the Royal
Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir. He has played almost all the
cathedral organs in Great Britain, including a stint as Acting-Assistant
Organist of York Minster. David specialises in organ and piano
transcriptions of orchestral scores and is in demand as an accompanist
to choral societies in the North of England. Recent performances have
included Duruflé: Requiem, Handel: Israel in Egypt, Rutter: Magnificat,
Schubert: Mass in A flat and two of Vaughan Williams’ most evocative
works: Serenade to Music and Toward the Unknown Region. After almost
thirty years music-making on Merseyside, David moved across the Pennines
in October 2003, having accepted the post of Sub-Organist at Leeds
Parish Church where he directs the Girl Choristers. He is accompanist
and associate conductor of Leeds College of Music Choral Society, and
directed their acclaimed performance of Mendelssohn’s St Paul in spring
2005 and a very enterprising and well supported concert of English music
at Leeds Parish Church earlier this year. His non-musical interests
include shipping, railways and photography.
David Townend, bass
was a choral scholar at Sheffield Cathedral from
1985 when he came up to the university and he remained in the choir as a
Songman after graduation. He has taken part in and enjoyed numerous
tours and recordings with the choir and with other chamber groups. He
has also sung with Operaworks in the University of Sheffield. He
regularly performs as a soloist and a recitalist. David’s particular
interest is early twentieth century English and French song. He is
increasingly in demand for oratorio work. His repertoire includes
Mendelssohn’s Elijah, the St John and St Matthew Passions of Bach,
Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast and Dvorák’s Stabat Mater, Rossini’s Petite
Messe Solennelle and Stabat Mater as well as Elgar’s The Apostles and
Vaughan Williams’ Pilgrim’s Progress. Recent performances include
Beethoven’s Mass in C and Puccini’s Messa di Gloria. In February he sang
‘The Trumpet Shall Sound’ from Handel’s Messiah at Roger Bullivant’s
memorial service.
Debra Morley,
soprano
studied at Cardiff University before being awarded
numerous prizes to study at the Bonn Opera and the Royal Scottish Academy of
Music and Drama and was recently awarded the prestigious Madeline Finden
Memorial Award. She has appeared with many companies including the D’Oyly Carte
Opera Company, London Opera Players, Opera Della Luna and Pavilion Opera with
whom she toured the UK, Europe and Japan. Roles performed include Leila (Les
Pêcheurs de Perles), Micaela (Carmen), Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro),
Adele (Die Fledermaus) and Violetta (La Traviata). Recordings
include Kayser’s Christmas Cantata for Guild Music, original compositions
for De Wolfe Music Ltd and BBC Radio 3. Debra also has a busy concert and
oratorio career, and her extensive oratorio performances have included: Bach’s
Magnificat, St. John Passion and St. Matthew Passion, Beethoven’s
Missa Solemnis, Carissimi’s Jephte, Haydn’s Harmoniemesse, The
Creation and The Seasons, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Purcell’s Come Ye Sons of Art, Schutz’ The
Christmas Story, Thiman’s The Last Supper, Tippett’s A Child of
Our Time and Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music.
Donna Bateman, soprano
studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where she won the GSMD
Singing Prize and was the Principal’s nomination for the prestigious James
Anthony Horne Scholarship. Prior to graduating with distinction from the Royal
Academy of Music she was a finalist in the Kathleen Ferrier Memorial Prize and
winner of the National Federation of Music Societies Award. She currently
studies with Pamela Cook MBE. Operatic roles include Mrs.Coyle (Owen Wingrave), Frasquita (Carmen) and Marzelline in Birmingham Opera
Company’s South Bank Show award winning production of Fidelio, broadcast
live on BBC 4. She was subsequently invited by Ned Sherrin to sing 'Glitter and
be Gay’ on Loose Ends on radio 4. Recently she performed Coralina (Il
Toreador) at the Batignano Opera Festival in Italy. Donna also gives regular
recitals and concerts; she recently completed a recital tour of music societies
in Wales supported by the NFMS. She has performed in Singapore, South Africa and
Malaysia. This year she sang at the opening ceremony of the World Athletics
Championships. Recent oratorio performances include St. Matthew Passion
at St. John’s, Smith Square and Mozart’s Mass in C minor at Chichester
Cathedral. Future engagements include Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro for
English Touring Opera
Elizabeth Roberts,
soprano
studied music at Newcastle University, where she specialized in
performance and won the David Barlow Memorial Award. She has worked in
master-classes with David Wilson-Johnson and now studies with Lillian Watson and
Colin Baldy. Her many
operatic roles include Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro (Susanna),
Puccini’s La Bohème (Musetta) and Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas
(Belinda). She took the role of Hilary Belle-Bottomley in the première
performance of On Thee We Feed by Richard Chew and Rufus Norris. Solo oratorio engagements are
extensive and varied including Haydn’s Stabat Mater, Purcell’s Te Deum
& Jubilate in D, Mozart’s Solemn Vespers and Monteverdi’s Vespers
of 1610 and, among others, works by Rutter, Fauré, Rameau, Lully, Bononcini
and Charpentier. Notable performances include Mozart’s Requiem at St
John’s Smith Square, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Tippett’s A Child of Our
Time and Richard Blackford’s Mirror of Perfection. She has also been
guest artist with the Scarborough Spa Orchestra for a Viennese evening and a
gala concert. Future engagements include Mozart’s Mass in C Minor, Bach’s
Cantata 68 and Mass in A; Rutter’s Mass of the Children,
Wheeler’s Sea Changes (première), Bach’s Magnificat, Purcell’s
Come ye Sons of Art and Handel’s Sing unto God.
Elizabeth Watts soprano
A SPECIAL TALENT
Although still in her mid-twenties Elizabeth Watts is making her mark
on the music scene. She graduated from Sheffield University with a first
class honours degree in archaeology and then won a scholarship to the
Royal College of Music, London. She has won numerous awards and has sung
in recital at the Wigmore Hall, Bridgewater Hall, Purcell Room and many
other venues across the country. Notable concert works include Bach’s
Christmas Oratorio at St John’s Smith Square and Mozart’s Requiem with
Sir David Willcocks. She is equally at home on the opera stage and
already has a number of roles in her repertoire including Flora Turn of
the Screw, Nanetta Falstaff and will make her debut with English
National Opera’s Young Singers Programme in September as Papagena in The
Magic Flute.
‘Watts’s bright, clear delivery has an agreeable quiver of vibrato…..In
Sleep she conjured equal measures of joy and melancholy in the lovely
melismas with which Gurney fills the words ‘idle fancy’; ….. she is a
performer who communicates readily. We will hear more of her’ Evening
Standard Purcell Room September 2004
‘The Elmira of Elizabeth Watts, who sings the opera’s show-stopping Act
II duet, was the
star of the evening, and by a long way. Tireless, with
rich and thrilling tone, each of her arias was an occasion’. The
Spectator RCM Handel’s Sosarme April 2004
Elizabeth Watts declaimed Tippett’s text with a confidence, belief and
a sense of theatre that marks her out as a special talent… she has a
terrific voice and natural stage-presence’ Colin Anderson,
classicalsource.com, January 2005
‘The opera should really be called Fulvia, and Elizabeth Watts sings
the role with deepening passion that excavates her torments brilliantly.
Watts can do the trilly soubrette but there is much more to the voice –
rounded, athletic and surprisingly fiery’ Robert Thickness, The Times,
March 2005
‘Watts's pliant, direct soprano has a shimmer and spin that recalls
the (very) young Victoria de los Angeles’ Anna Picard, Independent on
Sunday, March 2005
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Hannah Mason, contralto
was born in Leeds. She
won a scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where she completed
an honours degree in music and began her studies with David Pollard. Her
operatic roles to date have included Olga in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin,
Dorabella in Cosi Fan Tutte, Mallika in Lakmé, Clotilda in
Koanga and the Dolcina in Puccini's Suor Angelica. Recently she
appeared at the Buxton Festival in the role of Hansel in Hansel and Gretel.
Hannah has performed extensively in recitals, notably a solo recital at St
Martin-in-the-Fields and a series of recitals aboard Swan Hellenic's Minerva
II cruise ship around Italy. Hannah regularly performs in cabaret evenings
and opera galas throughout the UK. Hannah’s oratorio repertoire includes Haydn’s
Nelson Mass, Mozart’s Solemn Vespers and Tippett’s A Child of
Our Time. Apart from performing with this Society last season in Beethoven’s
Mass in C and Choral Fantasia her recent performances have
included Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater. Future engagements include Mozart’s
Mass in C and Requiem and Beethoven’s Mass in C. She will also
be performing the role of Hansel in Opera on a Shoestring’s Scottish tour of
Hansel and Gretel.
Jan Townend, reader.
From reciting and performing as a
child in church and youth club events in Goole, receiving Best Actress
Award at the Yorkshire Youth Drama Festival, to taking drama as main
subject at college, directing school productions, acting and directing
for Doncaster Little Theatre, training teachers, helping to run the
Youth Theatre Jan has come full circle, reciting and performing in a
church. Her mother ensured her attendance at elocution lessons – mainly
to correct a nervous nose twitch! She relishes all aspects of
performance of which the most recent include Shirley Valentine,
Mrs Alving in Ibsen’s Ghosts, Lady Macbeth, Arcadina in The
Seagull and Mrs Prentice in What the Butler Saw by Joe Orton.
Some productions she has directed are The Tempest, Under Milk Wood,
When We Are Married, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Educating
Rita.
Janet Bennett
studied harp and singing at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and
Drama. Equally at home playing the celtic harp and larger concert harp she has
played with many professional orchestras including the Scottish National and
Northern Sinfonia.
Her main love however is singing with self accompaniment and she is currently
delighting audiences from all over the world with this art form, having played
to Royalty and civic dignitaries. The music and songs she performs come from
many different countries and range from classical to popular in style but she
particularly enjoys the contemporary and traditional Northumbrian music and
songs from the region where she now lives. It was as a response to the
enthusiasm of her audiences and TV appearances that Janet has released three
solo CDs: “Clarsumbria” is a collection of her favourite music and songs from
the North with self accompaniment on the celtic harp. “A Touch of Class”
contains a mixture of classical, traditional and popular songs and music, a
guest flautist and even some jazz. “Romantic Moments” is her most recent CD and
again contains classical, traditional and popular songs and music suitable for
the many weddings and special occasions for which she is asked to play. These
last two recordings feature her stunning gold concert harp. As well as being
recognised as a soloist, Janet is part of “The Border Minstrels” trio which
consists of Northumbrian Pipes, Fiddle and Voice and Harp. They are considered
one of Northumbria’s premier groups and have made two recordings of Northumbrian
music and songs.Teaching is also very much part of her life. She currently
teaches singing at Emmanuel College and is the main teacher of harp in
Northumberland.
Janet Fairlie, soprano
was
born in Glasgow and studied at the Royal College of Music with Margaret Cable. She has won
many singing awards and prizes including the first prize in the 1992 National Mozart
Competition and the 'Earl ofDalhousie Award' for the most promising Scottish student at
college. After leaving the RCM she studied with Robert Dean and now studies with Richard
Hetherington. Her wide concert and operatic experience includes tours of Switzerland, the
Czech Republic and her debut performance in Germany in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in the
Beethovenhalle, Bonn. as part of the International Beethoven Festival 2001. Oratorio
performances include works by Haydn, Mozart, Bach, Handel and Carl Orff. She has appeared
in a variety of operatic roles to critical acclaim at the Royal Opera House and Covent
Garden and also at Glyndeboume Festival Opera. More unusual engagements have included
performing for Sir Eiton John at his Charity Ball and singing on a Spanish mountaintop for
Matthew Paris' (of The Times) 50th birthday! Janet has recently recorded a CD of popular
operatic arias, sacred and secular songs with ZHL Chamber Orchestra.
Jason Darnell,
tenor
studied at the Britten-Pears School and went on to gain an MA
in Vocal Performance Practice at the University of York. He has
performed extensively both at home and abroad, including early music
in Versailles, Leipzig, Warsaw, Corfu and the Czech Republic. He has
recorded and broadcast on ITV, Channel 4 and BBC Radio 3. He also
records with Corona Coloniensis for W.D.R. Recent performances have
included a programme of French baroque music with the Harmonia
Universale at the York Early Music Festival, a recording at the
Herne Festival with Corona Coloniensis, Handel’s Messiah and
Purcell’s The Fairy Queen with the Yorkshire Bach Choir. He
has also taken part in a live E.B.U. broadcast from Poland of the
world première of Zebrowski’s Magnificat and Wanski’s Missa
de Nativitate Domini with Concerto Polacco.
is a graduate of Birmingham University (First Class) and of The Royal
Northern College of Music. She was also a student at the Britten-Pears
School, Aldeburgh and is a former member of the BBC Daily Service
Singers.
Jennifer performs the mezzo-soprano and alto oratorio repertoire
throughout the UK. International concerts have taken her to Hong Kong
where she sang the Angel in The Dream of Gerontius. She has toured
Finland and Germany singing Vivaldi`s Gloria, Rossini’s Petite Messe
Solennelle and Dvorák’s Biblical Songs. Nearer to home, performances
have included a programme of sacred music by Haydn with the Lindsay
String Quartet and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony for Music in the Round at
The Crucible. Recent concerts include Stanford’s Bible Songs and
Rachmaninov`s All-Night Vigil at Sheffield and Lincoln Cathedrals.
Jennifer’s operatic appearances include the Bayreuth and Salzburg
Festivals.
She has worked with many prestigious conductors including Claudio Abbado,
James Levine, Daniel Barenboim and Antonio Pappano. She has sung with
touring companies in the UK and Ireland, appeared with Opera North and
sung at major festivals including Aldeburgh and Buxton where she also
gave a lunchtime recital. Her solo roles include Cornelia (Giulio Cesare),
La Cieca (La Gioconda) and Britten’s Lucretia. Concert performances of
opera include the title role in Carmen and 3rd Lady in The Magic Flute.
She sings with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden. Concerts this season
include J.S.Bach`s Mass in B Minor in Peterborough Cathedral
Jeremy Dawson, tenor
began
studying singing with Charles Corp whilst a pupil at Christ's Hospital School, Sussex. He
continued his education at Durham University, where he sang in the cathedral choir and
also studied singing with Peter Alexander Wilson. In 1997 he moved to Sheffield and joined
the choir of Sheffield Cathedral, with whom he has recently toured the USA. He has become
a regular soloist with choirs throughout South Yorkshire and Derbyshire, as well as
further afield. Recent solo performances include Handel's Chandos Anthems, Haydn's St
Nicholas Mass and Maunder's Olivet to Calvary. Future plans include performances of
Mendelssohn's Hymn of Praise and Handel 's Messiah.
Joanne Boddison, soprano
was
born in York and educated at Easingwold School and then at Bretton Hall College of Higher
Education in West Yorkshire. In addition to singing with St Peter's Singers in Leeds,
Joanne is a member of the Britten Singers (formerly the BBC Northern Singers) undertaking
with them recordings for Radio Three and Chandos Records. She has travelled extensively
with the international touring choir Sine Nomine formerly under the direction of the late
James Wild and, presently, Susan Oliphant. Joanne is also a member of Chores Amid who were
awarded the prestigious and overall title of Sainsbury's Choir of the Year 2000 at the
Royal Albert Hall in December of last year.
Jo Dwyer, contralto
was
born and educated in Doncaster. She studied singing at the Birmingham Conservatoire from
1984-1988, graduating in performing and teaching singing. At college she studied with
Pamela Cook and was a leading member of the opera school working with well-known producers
and repetiteurs of national opera companies. Since leaving college Jo farther studied with
Norma Proctor and continues to study with Pam Cook. She has appeared extensively as a
soloist with choral societies and a number of male voice choirs throughout the country.
Her wide oratorio repertoire encompasses works by Bach, Handel, Haydn, Dvorak and
Saint-Saens but she also specialises in recital work, English, German and Italian. She
made her singing debut in 1997 at the Birmingham Symphony Hall with the British Police
Orchestra. Private teaching occupies much of Jo's time. She shares her work between
Birmingham and Doncaster. Future engagements include Brahm's Alto Rhapsody.
John Dunford, tenor
began his career as a treble in Birmingham Parish Church Choir. Whilst at Trinity College
of Music he studied organ, singing, piano, harpsichord and conducting. Although Director
of Music at Ashville College in Harrogate, John maintains an active professional musical
career. He has played as organist in concerts and services throughout the UK and on the
continent. He currently conducts Wetherby Choral Society, Ripon Choral Society, and the St
Oswald's Singers, has been guest conductor of Harrogate Philharmonic Orchestra and has
been both deputy conductor and guest conductor of Sheffield Bach Society. John has
established himself as a soloist in the Yorkshire area and amongst others has sung Bach's
Mass in B minor, the Evangelist in the St John Passion, the title role in Britten's St
Nicolas and sung the extraordinary swan solo in Carmina Burana by Carl Orff.
John Lofthouse, bass
graduated from Durham
University and then taught Religious Studies. Currently, after completing a
two-year course as a post-graduate at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, he is
in his second year of the opera course studying with David Pollard. Recent
oratorio performances include the Requiems of Brahms, Fauré and Duruflé,
Bach’s St Matthew and St John Passions and the Mass in B minor,
Haydn’s Nelson Mass and Harmoniemesse, Mozart’s Solemn Vespers
and Requiem, and Vaughan Williams’ Mystical Songs and Sea
Symphony. Recitals have taken him from his native Cumbria to Turkey, Lebanon
and the Baltic on cruises with Swan-Hellenic. Last year, John won the
Association of English Singers and Speakers Patricia Routledge English
Competition and he also made his debut at the Wigmore Hall in Songbook 2003.
Among his operatic roles are Figaro and Count Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro),
Demetrius (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) and Jack Point (The Yeomen of
the Guard). Future plans include Junius (The Rape of Lucretia)
and Guglielmo (Cosi fan tutte). John will commence a year of study at the
National Opera Studio in September.
Jonathan Gooing, piano
graduated with a B.Mus (Hons.) from Sheffield University in 1996
where he studied piano with Yolande Wrigley and was awarded the Sir
Thomas Beecham Music Scholarship, the Julian Payne Scholarship, the
final year recital prize and the piano accompaniment award. Well known
throughout the north of England as a soloist, chamber musician and
accompanist he often plays as a piano duo with Keith Swallow. Jonathan
teaches piano and is the departmental accompanist at Sheffield
University; is senior lecturer in music at Bishop Grosseteste University
College, Lincoln. He is also completing an M.Mus. degree at Sheffield
University. Recent appearances include recitals in the Isle of Man,
Sheffield Cathedral Arts Festival, and the Royal Naval College Chapel,
Greenwich. A performance of the rarely heard Quartet for Piano, Clarinet
and Strings by Walter Rabl was described in ‘Clarinet & Saxophone’
magazine as ‘brilliant and stimulating’. As organist, Jonathan has
recently performed in services and concerts in the cathedrals of
Sheffield, Ripon, Lincoln and Durham. In 1999 Jonathan won the
Incorporated Society of Musicians/Yamaha ‘Birmingham Accompanist of the
Year’ Award, held in the Adrian Boult Hall of the Birmingham
Conservatoire, and adjudicated by David Owen Norris.
Kathryn Woodruff, contralto
graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, and taught in Leeds'
schools for a number of years whilst continuing to perform as a solo singer in many parts
of England and Wales, to much acclaim. Since giving up teaching, Kathryn's performances in
oratorio have taken her around the UK, most notably in Elgar's Dream of Gerontius
("high notes which were particularly thrilling"). Her singing in Bach's St
Matthew Passion has been described as "piercingly sublime", in Mendelssohn's
Elijah as an "immensely venomous Jezebel" and with "velvet tone" in
Handel's Messiah. She has sung and recorded with the Britten Singers on Radio 3 and has
featured on the Amphion recording of Dr. Francis Jackson's A Time of Fire. This season's
engagements include performances of Handel's Messiah and Bach's St John Passion. Kathryn
is also principal mezzo soprano/contralto soloist with St. Peter's Singers.
Karina
Lucas
is from London and is of Spanish and English parentage. She studied
at the National Opera Studio in 2005 where her studies were supported by
the Peter Moores Foundation and Glyndebourne. Previously, she trained at
the Royal Northern College of Music with Barbara Robotham, where her
studies were supported by an Allcard Award, a Musicians Benevolent Fund
Award, the Amanda Roocroft Prize and the Annie Ridyard Award. Karina
graduated from the RNCM in 2002 with a First Class Honours Degree and in
2004 with Distinction for her Post Graduate Diploma. She now studies
with Graeme Danby.
Kevin Spence, reader
graduated from Bristol
University and then did postgraduate teacher training at Nottingham
University. Early notable theatrical successes include Henry II in
The Lion in Winter, Astrov in Uncle Vanya and a professional
tour of David Storey’s In Celebration. Based in Doncaster he
helped found the Doncaster Little Theatre ten years ago. He has directed
a number of musicals in particular Oklahoma, Grease and The
Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Plays he has produced include
The Vortex, Julius Caesar, Teechers and Billy Liar. Amongst
his favourite acting roles are Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman,
Maxim de Winter in Rebecca, Sir in The Dresser and
Prospero in The Tempest. In addition he has written and directed
two revues The British in Love and Laughter Lines and
enjoys adapting work for the stage most notably a stage version of
Kenneth Branagh’s film Midwinter, which achieved national
recognition. Kevin has set up a drama training and consultancy
company, a highly successful youth theatre, and has just completed a new
piece of street theatre Night Fright.
Margaret McDonald,
mezzo-soprano
Yorkshire-based Maggie sings regularly in major venues and cathedrals in
the UK and abroad. She works with many leading conductors, encompassing an extensive
repertoire of oratorio and concert work, opera, contemporary and light music, As well as
singing with choral societies nationwide, she has sung for Glyndeboume Festival and
Touring Opera, ENO, Opera North, Chelsea Opera Group and Scottish Opera Go Round. She has
recorded a variety of works for Nimbus, Marco Polo and the BBC, including Maxwell Davies92
The
Jacobite Rising and Sea Elegy. She now combines a busy singing schedule with her vocal
consultancy work, being in demand for master classes, workshops and examining, coaching
and adjudicating, for groups such as Huddersfield Choral Society and the Hall~ Chorus.
Future performances include Elgar92s The Kingdom and The Dream of Gerontius, Handel92s
Messiah plus work with Opera North and the BJ3C.
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Mark Chaundy ,
tenor
sang as a chorister in the choir of St David92s Cathedral, whilst studying piano
and organ. He later won an award through the South Glamorgan Youth Choir for singing
lessons at the Welsh College of Music and Drama before gaining a choral scholarship to Magdalen College, Oxford, In 1999 he studied at the Royal College of Music as baritone
with Ryland Davies. Concert appearances include Bach92s St John Passion, Kurt Weill92s
Seven Deadly Sins with Cleo Lame and concerts with the London Mozart Players. Recital
highlights include a Britten programme with Roger Vignoles and a performance with Ned
Rorem of his songs at Tanglewood. He is also developing an opera repertoire and roles to
date include Cadmus (Handel92s Semele) and David (Mascagni's L 91amicoFritz). Mark
recently decided to move into the tenor repertoire and future engagements include
Mendelssohn's Elyah and a return to Glyndebourne Festival Chorus in April.
Martin Hindmarsh,
tenor
graduated from Birmingham University with a first class honours
degree in music and later an M.Mus. in Opera Studies. He studied singing
with John Cameron and with Joseph Ward OBE. He sang with the BBC
Northern Singers, often as soloist and has broadcast as soloist with the
BBC Philharmonic, the Northern Sinfonia and the Grimethorpe Colliery
Band. Martin gave the first broadcast performance of Walden, a cantata
by David Gow and has performed a number of times with the Lindsay String
Quartet. Recordings include songs by Alan Rawsthorne, Philip Wilby’s
Unholy Sonnets and songs by John McCabe. During 2002 Martin gave the
first performances of the scena for tenor and piano by John Joubert, On
Offa’s Back. He has a wide oratorio repertoire and has performed in
venues throughout the UK, including the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London and
the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester as well as across the world. Recent
performances have included The Dream of Gerontius and the Evangelist in
the Bach Passions. Martin is married to the mezzo-soprano Jennifer
Westwood and they often appear together; each summer they sing at the
Bayreuth Festival and in 2004 they gave joint recitals of songs to mark
the centenary of the death of Dvorák. He maintains interests in
conducting, composing and arranging in addition to lecturing on music.
The McAuley Chamber Choir
is made up of sixth form students and music staff of the school, and
is one of the eighteen extracurricular ensembles that rehearse weekly at
this Specialist Performing Arts College. They have built up an extensive
repertoire and reputation over the years under their conductor Rachel
Shenton. This has included participating in English Touring Opera’s
large-scale community opera entitled One Breath which featured adult and
school choirs from Doncaster and Sheffield.
Monica Law, piano
was educated at Stafford Girls’ High School. She graduated with a
BMus from Birmingham University and an MA from Sheffield University. She
has a lifetime of involvement in choral music and accompanies a choir
and soloists in Sheffield. She also holds music sessions with pre-school
children.
Nick Sales, tenor
was
born in Staffordshire in 1968 and since moving to South Yorkshire in 1997. he has since
been a pupil of Swinton-based Margaret Duckworth. He made his grand opera debut in January
1999, playing Alfredo Germont in South Yorkshire Opera's production of La Traviata. He was
invited to participate as guest international soloist in the 1998 Carols for Christmas
Concert in the Palais Des Beaux Arts, Brussels and was delighted to be invited back for
the 1999 concert. He also enjoys amateur operatics, having taken the leading tenor roles
in most of the Gilbert & Sullivan operas, and appearing at the International Gilbert
& Sullivan Festival each year since 1996. In 1998 and 1999, he won the coveted
"Best Male Voice" award. Future engagements include Handel's Messiah.
Link to Nicks 'English Tenor' website.
Nicola Mills, soprano,
originally
from Lancashire, Nicola studied at The Royal Scottish Academy of Music
and Drama with Patricia MacMahon. Whilst there she won prizes including
the Vocal Ensemble Prize, made recordings under the direction of Sir
Philip Ledger, toured the UK with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra,
and was supported by The Countess of Munster Musical Trust and The
Lawrence Atwell Charity.
Nicola broadcasts regularly with the BBC Radio 4 Daily Service Singers,
and also sings with Ex Cathedra. She has performed for Prince William,
and in many of the leading venues throughout the UK including The
Bridgewater Hall, St Martin in the Fields, The Albert Hall and The RNCM,
including the Scottish Premiere of Handel’s Gloria, Messiah, Haydn’s
Creation and The Seasons, Vivaldi Gloria and Laudate Pueri, along with
Orff’s Carmina Burana to name a few.
She also gives concerts as part of the Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now!
scheme both in London and the North West. Future engagements include
Mendelssohn’s Hymn of Praise in Wetherby, Carmina Burana in Frodsham,
Brahm’s Requiem in Macclesfield and Haydn’s Nelson Mass at Manchester
University. She is also looking forward to touring Vienna later in the
year with Blackburn Cathedral.
Nigel Boucher, bass
was born in Walsall and his interest in music stems from being part of a very musical
family. He began singing in his father's male voice choir at the age of twelve and then
continued in church choirs. Nigel's instruments include piano, guitar, euphonium and
organ. His main interest now is singing. His medical career brought him to Sheffield and
from 1990 he has been a regular soloist with Sheffield Bach Society. His repertoire
includes Handel's Messiah, Haydn's Creation and Mendelssohn's Elijah but he has sung many
other works including those by Faure, Britten and Finzi.
Nigel
Gyte, piano
is a very
experienced and versatile musician, well known in South Yorkshire and
the Midlands. Highly sought after as an accompanist, he is also
regularly called upon to play with orchestras, both in the concert hall
and the theatre. Recent excursions have included appearances with the
National Festival Orchestra at the Symphony Hall, Birmingham, the
Bridgewater Hall, Manchester and the Sheffield Arena. He has played
keyboard for the professional touring production of Blood Brothers
and just completed a run of Jekyll and Hyde at the Derby Assembly
Rooms. Nigel is a busy free-lance musical director with a long list of
credits, which include; West Side Story, Grease, The Wiz, Follies,
Gypsy, Annie, Carousel, Hello Dolly and A Funny Thing Happened on
the Way to the Forum. For a number of years he has been resident
accompanist for Rotherham Choral Society and in 2005 was inaugurated as
an Ambassador for Rotherham, for his services to music in the Borough.
Nigel is Director of Music at Rudston Preparatory School in Rotherham.
Paul Dutton, tenor
was born in
Leeds. Music has been a part of his life since he sang as a treble in the Choir of Leeds
Parish Church. As a soloist with this choir and numerous other choral societies he made
television and radio broadcasts as well as a number of recordings, touring in Britain and
Europe. His career has encompassed major operatic roles and oratorio. Paul continues to
work with Opera North and is a member of the Britten Singers. Recent solo performances
include the Monteverdi Vespers of 1610 and Britten's St. Nicolas, with CD recordings of
Stainer's Crucifixion and Mozart's Mass in D. Future engagements include Bach's Mass in B
minor and St John Passion, Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle and Mozart's Requiem Mass. He
is now Director of Music at Gateways School, Harewood.
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Peter Heginbotham,
organ
was a music scholar at Solihull School. In 1994 he was appointed to
the organ scholarship of Truro Cathedral. In 1995 he become the Sir
Henry Coward organ scholar at Sheffield Cathedral and University where
he gained the degree of BMus. He ran the student orchestra and played
continuo for the ‘Operaworks’ production of Dido and Aeneas at the 1997
Edinburgh International Festival. Following a year at Chester Cathedral
he returned to Sheffield as Assistant Master of the Music at Sheffield
Cathedral. Whilst on a tour of eastern USA he mastered the 180 stop
organ of the National Cathedral in Washington DC. Each August he plays
at Notre Dame, Paris, for the Vierne Singers and has frequently played
for the Commemoration Service for the Liberation of Paris, in the
presence of Jacques Chirac. He has made six recordings with the
Cathedral choir. He also performs each year with Sheffield Oratorio
Chorus.
Quentin Brown, bass
began
his musical life as a chorister at Rochester Cathedral and continued to sing while at
school and University. An Oxford graduate, he completed his studies at Cambridge, before
moving to Leeds where he became Principal Bass in the choir of Leeds Parish Church and
began a solo career which has taken him all over the UK and abroad. Recent performances
include Purcell's King Arthur, Bach's St John Passion, Mendelssohn's Elijah, Beethoven's
Choral Symphony, Vaughan Williams' Five Mystical Songs, and a recital of Operatic arias
and duets with his wife Hazel Turner. He recorded all of the diverse bass roles in the St
Peter's Singers' recently released CD recording of Francis Jackson's A Time of Fire.
Quentin is Principal Bass soloist for the
St Peter's Singers of Leeds and is a member of the Britten Singers
Rachel Anne Oakes, soprano,
was born and educated in
Halifax. She gained an MA in English at St Andrews University and,
whilst there, was a member of the renowned St Salvator’s Chapel Choir
touring with them throughout Europe, including a performance for United
Nations Heads of State. Rachel later gained a post-graduate advanced
diploma in singing. She has won joint first prize for soprano solo, in
the ‘Lancashire Evening Telegraph Rose Bowl’ competition at Blackburn
Festival. Rachel’s oratorio engagements include:
Coleridge-Taylor’s Hiawatha, Handel’s
Messiah and Bach’s Magnificat in D. She
has also been a regular guest soloist for the ladies’ choir ‘Vocal
Expressions’, Holme Valley and New Mill Male Voice Choirs in
Huddersfield. Rachel has toured with ‘Opus 1 Music’ in their
production of Puccini’s La Bohème and performed with ‘Opera Elan’
as part of Blackley Festival, recorded by Northern Broadcasting.
Latterly, she has sung soprano in Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man: A Mass
for Peace with this Society, and Purcell’s The Fairy Queen.
Forthcoming engagements include Handel’s ‘Messiah’, ‘Vocal
Expression’s’ 10th Anniversary concert at Huddersfield Town
Hall and a number of performances with ‘Opera Elan.’
Rebekah Coffey, soprano
graduated from Queens University, Belfast, with a B Mus. (First
class), later graduating from the Royal Northern College of Music with a
postgraduate vocal diploma.
As a
result of winning the 2004-2006 Young Artist Platform Scheme,
Rebekah’s career is developing on both the operatic stage and the
concert platform. She sang the role of Gretel in Hansel und Gretel
(2003), Peaseblossom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream whilst covering
the role of Susannah in The Marriage of Figaro for English
Touring Opera (2004). Her prestigious joint award from the Arts
Council Northern Ireland and the BBC has provided her with
£5000 for further study and two BBC engagements; a BBC broadcast recital
and a debut appearance with the Ulster Orchestra in June 2006. This year
she performed recitals of songs at the Downpatrick Fringe Festival and
at the Belfast Festival. Her broadcasts for the BBC include Schubert’s
Mass No. 4 in C major and a recital of song for Radio Ulster.
Future oratorio engagements include Bach Magnificat, Bruckner
Te Deum, Vivaldi Gloria and Handel Dixit Dominus;
concert performances with the Manchester Camerata and the Ulster
orchestra and the role of Amore in The Coronation of Poppea
at the Buxton Festival.
Ronald Law,
piano
was born and educated in Sheffield. He graduated from Birmingham
University with a degree in music and after obtaining a teaching diploma at
Sheffield University began a long career teaching music in Sheffield schools;
King Edward VII and Silverdale, where he was Head of Music. His musical
experience has been varied. He founded and conducted the Fossdale Singers (now
called Escafeld Chorale) for sixteen years. He was conductor of Sheffield Male
Voice Choir for four years and has been guest conductor on many occasions of
orchestras, including the Sheffield Youth Orchestra. A keen keyboard player he
played with a ‘big’ band called ‘Sounds 40’ and for a number of years was
co-director of ‘Late Arrivals’ - a seven-piece jazz band. Ron has been an
organist and choirmaster for over thirty years and although having retired from
this he remains an itinerant organist, playing at various churches, including
Sheffield Cathedral. Throughout his career Ron has written music for all the
groups he has been involved with. He and his wife are members of Sheffield
Oratorio Chorus, who recently performed his cantata God and Man. Details
of his music can be found on
www.musicbusinessplus.com. We are pleased to welcome Ron to the Society as
our accompanist.
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Samantha Hay, soprano
completed postgraduate studies at the R.C.M with Margaret Kingsley after graduating from
the Birmingham Conservatoire.Among her awards are the Great Elm Competition, the Cecil
Drew Oratorio
Competition and the Reginald Vincent Lieder Prize. At college she developed her interest
in opera, which included roles in Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld, Monteverdi's
Coronation of Poppea and Puccini's Suor
Angeiwa. She has also performed with Mid Wales Opera and Haddo House
Opera. Since leaving music college she has performed in The Yeomen of the Guard for the
British Youth Opera, Britten's The Rape of Lucretia in the Hungarian premiere (2001) and
undertaken tours of Latvia and St. Petersburg
(2002), both for Opera Europe. Also in 2002 she understudied and performed Elsie (The
Yeoman of the Guard) and Yum-yum (The Mikado) with D'Oyly Carte and Josephine in H.MS.
Pinafore for D'Oyly Carte for three months at
the Savoy Theatre, London.
Stephen Brown, tenor
studied at the
Royal College of Music, London graduating in 1999 with seven major recital
prizes. His career has led to roles with companies such as Almeida Opera, Kent
Opera, Buxton Festival, English National Opera, Opera Della Luna, The Carl Rosa
Opera Company and Castleward Opera, Raymond Gubbay at the Albert Hall,
Garsington Festival Opera, The D’Oyly Carte Opera Company and Glyndebourne.
Recent performances include Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance in New
Zealand and Count Almaviva in The Barber of Seville. He has also
made two commercial CDs of oratorios by Arthur Sullivan. Stephen has sung most
of the major oratorio repertoire and recent concert performances include Verdi’s
Requiem at the Barbican, Handel’s Messiah in Romania, Rossini’s
Stabat Mater in Norway, Stradella’s San Giovanni Battista in
Jerusalem, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony in Spain and Bach's St Matthew
Passion with Peter Schreier in London and Iceland. He is currently on tour
with Carl Rosa Opera as Ralph in HMS Pinafore.
And last but not least, not a soloist but an
orchestra which sometimes accompanies us:-
South Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra
was founded in 1969 and became an
all-professional freelance ensemble when Paul Scott took over the reigns in
1978. Under his baton it appeared in many concerts throughout South Yorkshire
and beyond. A number of these were in Sheffield City Hall, including a string of
G&S concerts with Gilbert & Sullivan For All, which led to SYSO playing
for them in three all-professional full G&S productions. One of these was a
spectacular and lavish production of The Yeomen of the Guard in Newark
Castle. In recent years choral music has become its speciality playing regularly
for choral societies in Sheffield, Doncaster and Bakewell and occasionally in
Leeds, Ripon and Harrogate.