The Messiah by George Frideric Handel
A very special concert to celebrate the 80th Birthday of our Director Chris Phelps. We will be accompanied by a Chamber Orchestra led by Phillipa Barton with soloists: Catherine May, Laura Margaret Smith, Richard Symons and Owain Browne.
Catherine May, our soprano soloist, studied music in Canada and in the UK at the RNCM, supported by the Peter Moores Foundation. Her operatic and concert work have taken he onto the UK's top stages, including the Wigmore Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Almeida and National Theatres, performing and touring with English National Opera, English Touring Opera, Scottish Opera on Tour and ROH, among others. Her concert work includes symphonies and oratorios with top UK orchestras and choral societies. As well as performing she is a dedicated singing teacher, based in East Anglia.
Described as "a spirited young mezzo with a full, fearless voice. A name to watch" by Gramophone magazine, Scottish Mezzo-soprano, Laura Margaret Smith is an award winning performer who enjoys an exciting and versatile international career. A performer praised for "singing with agility, intelligence, always attentive to detail, and possessing a pleasing coloratura" (Operawire), Laura has sung with Bayreuth Festival Opera, Hamburg State Opera, Wexford Festival Opera, Scottish Opera, Opera Bohemian, Mahogany, Mahler Players, NOISE and Paisley Opera. Equally at home on the concert platform, Laura has performed in venues such as the Melbourne Recital Centre with the Edinburgh International Festival, Wigmore Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Kings Place for the Yehudi Menuhin Centenary Concert, St. Martin-in-the-fields, The Usher Hall, The Queen's Hall, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, City Hall, Glasgow, The Caird Hall and Aberdeen's The Citadel in a live broadcast for BBC Radio 3. She is a regular oratorio soloist in the UK and Europe and is a guest performer with the Dunedin Consort.
Singing Tenor with us will be Richard Symons who is a graduate of Mannes College, New York and the Wesstern Australian Academy of Performing Arts. He currently holds the position of Vocal Coach at Jesus College Cambridge, and deputises at Ely Cathedral. His operatic appearances include the First Priest in The Magic Flute for Western Australian Opera, Spoletta in Tosca for London-based Diva Opera in performances in the UK and France during 2022 and a return to the company as Borso in Rigoletto for tours of the UK, Channel Islands, France and South Africa in 2023.
On the concert platform, he has been engaged as soloist in the St John Passion by Norwich Cathedral, Montevrdi's Vespers of 1610 by Epsom Chamber Choir, for the title role of Handel's Samson and Haydn's Creation with Ashford Choral Society, Acis in Acis & Galatea by Haslingfield Choral Society, Beethoven's Mass in C and Puccini's Messa di Gloria for Hadleigh Choral Society and Mozart's Requiem with Sheringham a& Cromer, and also Ely choral societies.
Owain Browne will sing the Bass part in our performance. A Suffolk-born baritone, Owain trained in Glasgow and Belgium and has performed as a soloist on the international stage in concerts and operas. He made his debut with Dutch National Opera as Luzifer in Day Three of their groundbreaking aus Licht cycle for Stockhausen's Licht Operas which was performed at the Holland Festival and recived critical acclaim performing Officer2/Blazes in The Lighthouse by Peter Maxwell Davies for Shadwell Opera in London. Owain has appeared as a soloist at the BBC Proms in Vaughan Williams' Serenade to Music with the RSNO and has performed widely as a concert soloist with British choral societies in works such as Bach's Matthe and John Passions, Mendelssohn's Elijah and Brahms' Ein Deutches Requiem to name a few.
Philippa Barton who will lead the orchestra has a busy and varied life as a freelance violinist, leading a number of ensembles, such as the Kings Chamber Orchestra, and Essex, Colchester and City of Cambridge Symphony Orchestras. She plays all around the country and further afield with various other orchestras, such as English Touring Opera, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the London Mozart Players and the City of London Sinfonia.
She also enjoys working as a soloist, teacher and coach, seeking to inspire and enthuse pupils and audiences of all ages.