News

31 January 2025

News from Samling Artists – January 2025

Friends of Emma Kerr, who died suddenly in 2021, are holding a concert in her memory on 8 February St Matthias Church, Stoke Newington to launch the Emma Kerr Classical Singing Award. This award will support aspiring Scottish mezzo-sopranos to attend the Oxenfoord Summer School and all proceeds from the concert and a second event in Edinburgh will go towards this fund.

The singers and pianists performing at this concert include Kamilla Dunston, Matthew Fletcher, Lucy Hall, Jerome Knox, Jade Moffat, Madison Nonoa, Anna Patalong, James Sherlock, Alice Turner and Rick Zwart,

achorusforemma.co.uk

BBC Music Magazine Awards

The shortlists for the 2025 BBC Music Magazine Awards have been announced, with Samling Artists dominating the choral category: Nicky Spence, Anna Stéphany and Andrew Foster-Williams are the three soloists in the Gabrieli recording of The Dream of Gerontius and Beth Taylor is the mezzo-soprano soloist in Mozart’s Requiem, with Raphael Pichon and Pygmalion.

Christophe Rousset’s recording of Louise Bertin’s Fausto with Nico Darmanin in the role of Valentino, continues to make waves and is shortlisted in the opera category.

If you’d like to support the nominated Samling Artists, you can vote here until Friday 28 February.

classical-music.com/awards/2025-awards/bbc-music-magazine-awards-2025

Royal Philharmonic Society Awards

David Butt Philip is nominated in the category for best singer in the short list for this year’s RPS Awards.

royalphilharmonicsociety.org.uk/rps_today/news/2025-rps-awards-shortlists-announced

Oxford Song

Oxford Song have announced their 2025 season, with full details of their Spring Song series in April and some teasers for the full festival in October.

Nardus Williams continues her collaboration with lutenist Elizabeth Kenny in a recital on Saturday 26 April and the following day, Oxford Song Young Artists Ellen Pearson and Francesca Lauri provide the musical illustrations for a talk by Katy Hamilton on Robert Schumann’s Dichterliebe. The main festival, running from 10–25 October, includes Benjamin Appl giving a centenary tribute to his mentor Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. Kitty Whately also appears on the list of headline performers and there are sure to be many more Samling Artists involved – we’ll bring you all the details when they’re announced.

oxfordsong.org/

Recordings

Ross Ramgobin appears on a new recording of Kurt Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins with the LSO conducted by Sir Simon Rattle.

lsolive.lso.co.uk/products/lso0880-weill

Opera Holland Park

Sebastian Hill will be an Opera Holland Park Young Artist this season, where he will be covering the title role in Jonathan Dove’s Itch.

operahollandpark.com/news/introducing-the-2025-young-artists/

Also in Opera Holland Park’s season, Angharad Lyddon makes a house and role debut as Mary, The Flying Dutchman. Jennifer France sings the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor alongside Morgan Pearse as Lord Enrico. Amy J Payne is Olga in The Merry Widow in a co-production with Scottish Opera and First Bridesmaid in Trial by Jury. Edward Jowle premieres the role of Hugo Cheeseman in A Matter of Misconduct by Emma Jenkins and Toby Hession, commissioned for Scottish Opera and Opera Holland Park.

The Grange Festival

Samantha Clarke and Nico Darmanin star as Violetta and Alfredo in La traviata and Ellie Laugharne is Adele in Die Fledermaus.

thegrangefestival.co.uk/2025/

Competition news

Congratulations to Charlotte Bowden and Maria Hegele who received prizes in the final of the Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition in Dublin with Charlotte also receiving the Dublin Song Series Prize.
vdiscompetition.com/results/