On Wednesday 21st May 2014 I was delighted to return to Royal Northern College of Music to perform an evening English Song recital with pianist James Baillieu as part of their programme of events to mark the centenary of the First World War. The concert took place in the RNCM Theatre and so many happy memories of operas there (and nerve wracking exams) came flooding back... it was such an honour to have been invited back. We performed a programme of songs including Howells, Quilter, Gurney and Elgar and Frank Bridge. The audience were great with lots of familiar faces and we were so thrilled to see so many students there too! They treated us to a beautiful rendition of 'We'll Meet Again' to finish the evening!
Our concert was part of the fundraising for the RNCM Concert Hall which is currently being transformed! I spent lots of time in the Concert Hall during my studies (nearly took my sleeping bag a few times!) I soaked up loads of music as an audience member, snuck into lots of orchestral rehearsals to observe and I was really fortunate to perform in there many times - I remember my first performance was 'Che Faro Senza Euridice' (recit and all!) in a Junior RNCM concert over 10 years ago! That hall was host to so many invaluable experiences for me and it is great to know there is a brand new facility on its way to the RNCM that will be of huge benefit for future audiences and students alike.
And guess what... you can be a part of the transformation! Check out this page... http://www.rncm.ac.uk/support/yourrncm/
(Photo above: After the concert with my vocal tutor Susan Roper and James Baillieu, RNCM)