Month: November 2022

 

Canadian soprano Brittany King is an artist confident in an extensive range of styles. Recent performances include Messiah (Worcester Festival Choral Society), Bach’s Christmas Oratorio (Gloucester Choral Society) and Bob Chilcott’s St John Passion (Coventry Cathedral Chorus).  In 2022-2023 Brittany performs at Salisbury Cathedral (Brahms’ Requiem), York Musical Society (Fauré’s Requiem & Michael Haydn’s Requiem) and returns to Coventry Cathedral Chorus for the Messiah.

Prior to the pandemic, UK appearances included Christmas Oratorio (Stratford Choral Society), Creation (Elgar Baroque Singers, Worcester) Handel’s Dixit Dominus & Vivaldi’s Gloria (Abingdon Choral Society), Vivaldi’s Gloria (Gloucester Choral Society) and Saint-Saëns’ Oratorio de Noël (Leighton Buzzard Festival Singers). Brittany was a featured performer at Elmslie House in Malvern for The Art of Song concert.

During the pandemic, Brittany was active in creating digital music content for Timothy Eaton Memorial Church in Toronto. As both soloist and quartet member, she covered repertoire spanning Handel, Mozart, Rutter, and a North American premiere by composer Ernest Hui.

Formerly based in Toronto, Brittany recently moved to the UK where she now makes her home. She loves spending time at her cottage in Canada, going on hikes in the Malvern hills with her twin daughters and cosy movie nights by the log burner with her family. She is looking forward to performing with the Stour Singers in December!

 

James Birchall studied at St John’s College, Cambridge, the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.

He has sung many of the major oratorio roles, notably Handel’s Messiah and Beethoven’s Choral Symphony, both with the CBSO in Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Bach’s St John Passion with the London Mozart Players in St Paul’s Cathedral, Christmas Oratorio and Messiah in Kristiansund, Norway and St Matthew Passion at the Royal Festival Hall with the Bach Choir.  Forthcoming concerts include Bach’s Christmas Oratorio in Gloucester Cathedral and the Messiah in Worcester Cathedral.

In 2010 he made his solo debut at the BBC Proms, performing Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music, and has twice appeared as a soloist at the Three Choirs Festival, performing Serenade to Music and Purcell’s Hail Bright Cecilia.

Operatic engagements have included Messenger Belshazzar at the Theatre du Capitole, Toulouse, Moralès (cover) in Carmen for Raymond Gubbay Ltd at the Royal Albert Hall and the O2 Arena, London, and Masetto/Commendatore in Don Giovanni for Opera della Luna at the Iford Festival. James also often sings with the Royal Opera Chorus with productions this season including Aida, La Bohème and Tannhäuser.

He is married with two daughters who have picked up his enthusiasm for music, but cricket and rugby are still work in progress.

Julian was a chorister at St John’s College, Cambridge. He later went to York University graduating with a BA honours degree in Music.

His career involves a mixture of concert and recording work both as a soloist and choral singer.  He has appeared on several award-winning discs, most notably with the Cardinall’s Musick. He has also featured on discs for Westminster Abbey, The Sixteen, Opera Rara, and The Gabrielli Consort.

A regular with the BBC Singers and The Academy of Ancient Music Julian is a full-time member of Westminster Abbey Choir where he has sung since 1999. In Oratorio, he is an experienced Evangelist, and his solo repertoire ranges from Monteverdi’s Vespers, which he sang live on Radio 3, to Passio by Arvo Part.

Operatic Roles include Belmonte and Pedrillo in Mozart’s Abduction from the Seraglio (Holland Park Opera) whilst choral highlights have included singing at the Royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, and more recently the funeral of Her Late Majesty the Queen.

Recent performances have included Haydn’s Creation with Hertfordshire Choral Society, The Seasons with The Academy of Ancient Music at the Barbican, and Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with Westminster Abbey.

Julian lives in Watford with his wife Karen and dog Charlie. Hobbies include playing classical guitar, piano duets, horse riding, football, tennis and hill walking.

 

 

Tom Lilburn is a countertenor who recently graduated with distinction from the Master of Performance course at the Royal College of Music. He was an Ian Evans Lombe Scholar at RCM, where his studies were generously supported by The Charlotte Fraser Foundation. Roles at RCM include Unulfo in Handel’s Rodelinda, and Refugee in Jonathan Dove’s Flight. He is currently covering the roles of Ottone and Narciso in Handel’s Agrippina with English Touring Opera. Recent oratorio performances include Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s St. John Passion, Vivaldi’s Gloria and Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms. He continues his vocal studies with Sally Burgess.

Since 2016 Tom has been a Lay Clerk at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, and in April 2021 he was one of four singers at the funeral of The Duke of Edinburgh.  He also sang with the choir for the Queen’s committal service at Windsor. He is a member of the vocal sextet The Queen’s Six, and has worked with professional choirs including Tenebrae, The Sixteen, The Binchois Consort and ORA.

Tom grew up in the Midlands and was a finalist in BBC Radio 2 Chorister of the Year in 2007. He studied Natural Sciences at St. John’s College, Cambridge, where he was a choral scholar. In his spare time Tom enjoys playing chess, cricket, tennis and golf.