about me:
Singing has always been part of my life: I sang my first solo in a school concert, aged 11. I started singing lessons whilst reading biology at Bristol University, where I sang the role of Casilda in the Gondoliers, as well as in several University choirs. After graduating I worked in the charity sector, but found the singing side of my life gradually taking over. I completed a Diploma in Concert Singing from Birkbeck University (course director Hazel Wood) gaining a Distinction, in 2006. I have had the privilege of studying with some wonderful teachers including Susan Varley, Liane Keegan, Liz Harrison, Carole Gibb, and my current teacher, Veronica Veysey Campbell.
I sang with Exmoor Singers of London from 1996 – 2002, including on the occasion of their winning the title of Mixed Voice Choir of the Year in 1998. Solos with the choir included Copland: In the Beginning at the National Portrait Gallery, Poulenc: Mass in G, at a critically acclaimed Poulenc Centenary concert at St John's Smith's square, and Godfrey: When I am dead my dearest at their Purcell Room debut in 2002.
Since then I have appeared as a soloist with a number of choirs, including Anton Bruckner Choir, Helios Voices, Islington Choral Society, Cantemus (Canterbury) and the BBC staff choir. Highlights include: Schubert: Mass in G; Scarlatti: St Cecilia Mass; Finzi: In Terra Pax; Haydn: Missa Brevis; Handel: Messiah; and Monteverdi: Vespers. I dep in professional choirs in London churches and synagogues, including West London Synagogue, New London Synagogue, Westminster Central Hall, Annunciation Marble Arch, St Peter's Ealing, St Andrew's Fulham Fields. In a very different setting, I perform lute songs and madrigals at the Tudor banquets at Hatfield House.
Recent recital appearances include music by Purcell, Monteverdi and Handel at All Saints Church in Fulham, with soprano Katharine Galaud and harpsichordist Anna Tetsuya, and songs by Cole Porter and Jerome Kern at St Mary Islington with pianist Gisela Meyer. I sing as part of trio Simply Sopranos with Sara Cluderay and Carol-Anne Grainger. In 2016 I sang the role of Dido in a concert performance of Dido and Aeneas, as part of the City lit summer school.
I love sharing my passion for singing and so in 2010 was delighted to be offered a job at City Lit, where I teach a range of classes from complete beginners upwards; I also have a private teaching practice and run occasional workshops in South London. I have directed a choral workshop for Summer Singers (an offshoot of Islington Choral Society) several times, and for a few years running I directed a small ensemble, known as The Langdon Down Singers, in a fundraising concert in aid of the Down's Syndrome Association.
Professional Development
2005 - 2006
Diploma in Concert Singing (Distinction)
Birkbeck University
Course Director: Hazel Wood
2012
Fundamentals of the singing voice 1 & 2
City lit in association with the British Voice Association
Course Director: Linda Hutchison
2013
Teacher Training course
Association of Teachers of Singing
2015 & 2016
Vocal Pedagogy
Musicfest Aberystwyth
Dr Ron Morris and Janice Chapman
2018
The voice through the lifespan
Canto Voice School
Dr Ron Morris