Enjoy a series of masterclasses and talks as part of BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2023 at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. All tickets cost £12 and can be booked via St David’s Hall.
Masterclass with Anna Tilbrook: 12 June 2023, 3.30pm
Anna Tilbrook, one of Britain’s most exciting pianists, leads this masterclass with students from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.
After making her debut at the Wigmore Hall in 1999, Anna has become a regular performer at Europe’s major concert halls and festivals and frequently broadcasts for Radio 3. She has collaborated with leading singers and instrumentalists including James Gilchrist, Willard White, Barbara Bonney and Iestyn Davies. For Welsh National Opera she has accompanied Angela Gheorghiu, Jose Carreras and Bryn Terfel in televised concerts.
Anna also teaches at the Royal Academy of Music and the University of Oxford and is a member of the Song Prize jury at this year’s Cardiff Singer of the World competition.
Masterclass with Rosemary Joshua and Llŷr Williams: 13 June 2023, 3.00pm
The internationally renowned soprano Rosemary Joshua returns to her home city for the 40th anniversary of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition. As well as serving on both the Main Prize competition and the Song Prize juries, we are delighted to announce that Rosemary will be giving a masterclass with students from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, accompanied by Llyr Williams.
Working with new talent is a particular passion for Rosemary and she has been teaching, coaching and advising young singers since 2015, collaborating frequently with various Young artists programmes including The Zurich Opera Studio and The Bolshoi young artists’ program. She was appointed as head of the Dutch National Opera Studio in September 2018.
Acclaimed pianist Llyr Williams regularly appears in recital at the most prestigious UK venues and Festivals and is an Honorary Fellow of the Welsh College of Music and Drama. Alongside Simon Lepper, Llyr will be accompanying the 16 singers who are competing in the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Song Prize competition. Rounds will take place in the Dora Stoutzker Hall with the final to be held at St David’s Hall on Thursday 15th June at 6.00pm.
Masterclass with Bernarda Fink and Simon Lepper: 14 June 2023, 10am
Argentine Mezzo Soprano Bernarda Fink, one of the most sought-after singers in concerts and recitals, has appeared to widespread critical acclaim in the greatest opera houses of Europe. We are thrilled that she will be holding a masterclass, accompanied by Simon Lepper, with students from the Welsh College of Music and Drama as well as serving on the juries of both the Main Prize and the Song Prize in this special 40th anniversary year of BBC Cardiff Singer of the World.
Bernarda’s repertoire ranges from ancient music to the 20th century and she has worked with some of the world’s greatest conductors including Daniel Barenboim, Sir John Eliot and Sir Simon Rattle. She regularly holds master classes at the Wiener Meisterkurse, the Young Singers’ Project (YSP) in Salzburg and the Aldeburgh Festival.
Simon Lepper is in much demand as a song pianist and chamber musician, which has led to performances at venues including Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, Mozarteum, Concertgebouw and L’auditorium du Louvre. He is also Vocal Repertoire Coach, Collaborative Piano Co-ordinator and professor of Collaborative Piano at the Royal College of Music in London.
Simon Lepper, along with Llyr Williams, is the official pianist for the Song Prize.
Composition Workshop with Errollyn Wallen: 15 June 2023, 10.00am
Errollyn Wallen is an inspirational, multi-award winning Belize-born British composer. Her prolific output includes over twenty operas and a large catalogue of orchestral, chamber and vocal work, which are performed and broadcast throughout the world. In this unique masterclass Errollyn will be offering the opportunity to see how ‘a composer composes’ as she critiques specially prepared songs from selected students from the Composition and Creative Music Technology department at the RWCM&D. Join us for what promises to be a fascinating event in the CSOTW Fringe Festival.
One of the top 20 most performed living composers of classical music in the world, Errollyn was the first black woman to have a work featured in the Proms and the first woman to receive an Ivor Novello award for Classical Music for her body of work. New works for 2023 include a violin concerto, Dances for Orchestra for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and song cycle, JOY, for Erin Wagner. Her 40 part work for unaccompanied voices was released in February by the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and her piano concerto was released in March on the Resonus label. In October Errolyn will give her Wigmore Hall debut performing the songs from the Errollyn Wallen Songbook – and her book Becoming a Composer will be published by Faber later this year.
Errollyn is a judge on both the Main Prize and Song Prize juries at BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2023.
Choral workshop with Tim Rhys Evans: 16 June 2023, 1.30pm
Founder of Only Men Aloud, and Director of Music at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Tim Rhys-Evans leads this special session for audience members who may have got the bug and may want to do a little singing themselves!
He’ll be taking you through some choral classics and finish with some coaching on the Welsh Anthem, Mae hen wlad fy nhadau.
When we ran a similar session in 2017 it was a huge hit with the audience, and we’ve persuaded Tim to do it again for the 40th anniversary – don’t miss it!
Masterclass with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and Simon Lepper: 16 June 2023, 3.30pm
A rare opportunity to observe one of the greatest opera singers in the world conducting a masterclass with young singers. Dame Kiri is well known to Cardiff audiences for her long association with the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition and we are delighted that she is able to join us again.
Dame Kiri is a passionate believer in supporting emerging artists at the beginning of their journeys. She created The Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation in 2004 to nurture and mentor outstanding young singers to enable them to develop to their full potential.
Dame Kiri will be accompanied by Simon Lepper, official pianist for the Song Prize.
