Katie Bray (mezzo soprano)
William Vann (piano)

Saturday 7th April, 2012
7:30pm

www.katieemilybray.com

Katie Bray is a Karaviotis scholar on the opera course at the Royal Academy of Music, taught by Elizabeth Ritchie and Iain Ledingham, and was recently awarded First Prize in the Academy's prestigious Richard Lewis singing competition. She will be performing the role of Polly Peachum in Royal Academy Opera's production of Weill's Die Dreigroschenoper in May. This summer Katie will also play Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro with British Youth Opera at the Peacock Theatre.

During her time as a postgraduate student at the Royal Academy of Music, Katie was awarded the 2009 Major van Someren-Godfrey Prize for English Song, the 2010 Elena Gerhardt Lieder Prize, the Alfred Alexander Scholarship and the Karaviotis and Sir Thomas Armstrong Awards. She was also the recipient of the Opera Prize and third prize overall in the 2011 Mozart International Singing Competition, the Audience Prize in the 2010 Handel Singing Competition and third prize in the 2010 Jackdaws Vocal Award.

Recent solo appearances include Wu in the world première of Peter Maxwell-Davies' opera,Kommilitonen!, Dorabella in R.A.O’s production of Cosi fan tutte, a lunchtime recital in the 2011 London Handel Festival, and a Gershwin recital with Tom Poster. Katie is grateful for generous support from the Countess of Munster Musical Trust and the Josephine Baker Trust.

Forthcoming concerts include the première of Handel's Comus in the London Handel Festival and a Countess of Munster Young Artists recital in the Wigmore Hall.

williamvann.com

William Vann is establishing himself at the forefront of the current generation of young British accompanists. He was born and brought up in Bedford before reading law and taking up a choral scholarship at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. He then studied as a pianist at the Royal Academy of Music with Malcolm Martineau and Colin Stone, graduating with distinction; in 2008 he won the Gerald Moore award for young accompanists and in October 2010 won the Great Elm Awards Accompanist Prize. He is also a past winner of the Sir Henry Richardson Scholarship, is supported by the Geoffrey Parsons Memorial Trust, was the Hodgson Fellow in piano accompaniment at the RAM for the academic year 2009-10.

Recent performances have included Schumann and Debussy songs with Samantha Malk at the 2010 Aldeburgh Festival, a Wigmore Hall debut with Samuel Evans in association with the Worshipful Company of Musicians, a Samling Foundation concert at The Sage Gateshead, the 2009 Young Songmakers concert at St John’s, Smith Square, Mahler, Schumann and Wolf Lieder at the RAM, a recital with James Gilchrist, guest performances for the Berkeley, Finzi and Gurney Societies, a celebration of the music of Judith Weir at the RAM, choral accompaniment in Lund Cathedral and Dvorak and Brahms’ chamber music with the Nephele Ensemble at St David’s, Cardiff and in the Rhyl and Carlisle festivals. Forthcoming appearances include five concerts in the 2011 London English Song Festival, recitals at St John’s, Smith Square and St Martin-in-the-Fields and a Samling Foundation recital in December at Wigmore Hall.

He has either commissioned or given the first performance of new English songs and song cycles by several English composers, including Christian Alexander, Joseph Atkins, Martin Eastwood, Johnny Herford, David Nield and Graham Ross. And has played in masterclasses given by Michael Dussek, Graham Johnson, Roger Vignoles, Julius Drake, Robin Bowman, Andrew West, Sue McCulloch, Sarah Walker, Richard Jackson, Richard Stokes, Robert Tear, and James Bowman.

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