Samling and Song

Residencies for art-song duos

Samling and Song 2025

We are delighted to introduce the two duos who will be supported through Samling and Song residencies in 2025 and their projects:

Untold lives Neil Balfour (baritone) and Sid Ramchander (piano)

“Untold Lives has been years in the making! It is a subject matter that has a personal connection to me and my family and one that I hope will have huge success in the future too. To combine the exploration, work and discovery of this special project with my Samling family is just a dream come true. I can’t really ask for more than having some of my favourite artists and facilitators all coming together to make this new music happen. Thank you Samling and I can’t wait to get started!”
Neil Balfour

“It is very fitting for such a special project to find its feet at Samling, and I’m honoured to be working together with Neil and, as he put it, our Samling family again.”
Sid Ramchander

Cabaret Ellen Pearson (mezzo-soprano) and Francesca Lauri (piano)

“We both found our Samling courses such enriching experiences and we can’t wait to return to work on a project that we are extremely excited about! Our project focuses on the blurring of boundaries between Art Song, Cabaret and Musical Theatre. We will use our residency to broaden our repertoire of styles, and to create an immersive, dramatic performance which will combine many influences to tell an immense story.”

 

Neil Balfour and Sid Ramchander

Francesca Lauri and Ellen Pearson

About Samling and Song

Samling and Song is a unique residency programme that supports early-career singers and pianists in the creation and performance of art song programmes for new audiences.

In partnership with The Hugo Burge Foundation, we offer two residencies annually in accommodation on Marchmont Estate in the Scottish Borders. Each singer/pianist duo will work with a mentor who will help to craft and direct the project and be given advice and practical support to promote the programme to venues.

Each artist will be awarded a generous bursary towards the development costs of their programme and a stipend to cover the cost of travel and subsistence for the residency week.

We are looking for creative and well-crafted applications that demonstrate how the residency opportunity will enhance the artistic development of the participants and fulfil our aim for the project by reaching new audiences. This could be, for instance, taking work into new venues or unusual performance spaces where art-song is not usually performed or to parts of the UK that are under-served by live classical music or by reaching people who would not normally attend art-song concerts. The proposals might include new music, or music by composers from under-represented groups.

Above all, successful duos must be prepared to be challenged, work collaboratively and be open to new ideas.