Celebrating creative leaders, championing inclusion, and inspiring the next generation: RWCMD's 2025 Honorary Fellows
Read more
News
RWCMD appoints Dr Fiona McAndrew as new Head of Vocal Studies
An internationally experienced performer, academic, clinical counsellor and high-performance voice teacher and coach, Dr Fiona McAndrew will take over from Mary King who, while stepping down from this role, will continue to work with the College on specific projects.
‘Creating connections and promoting the ancient and modern art of voice around the world'
An internationally experienced performer, academic, counsellor and high-performance voice teacher and coach, Dr Fiona McAndrew will take over from Mary King who, while stepping down from this role, will continue to work with the College on specific projects.
An internationally experienced performer, academic, counsellor and high-performance voice teacher and coach, Dr Fiona McAndrew will take over from Mary King who, while stepping down from this role, will continue to work with the College on specific projects.
Fiona has held senior academic and teaching roles at leading universities and was most recently Deputy Head of Opera and Lecturer in Musical Theatre at Perth’s Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.
‘I am delighted to be welcoming Fiona to take over the reins of the vocal department from Mary King.
Fiona is a highly skilled performer who has already held senior positions in the conservatoire sector and having spent her career working internationally, she brings an outward looking perspective, making her an ideal candidate for this challenging role.
Alongside this, her psychology training means she will have the students’ wellbeing at the heart of her practice, speaking to our core RWCMD values of being expert and inclusive.
I also want to say an enormous thank to Mary King for her brilliant stewardship for the vocal department over the last three years. This is not the end of the road for Mary and RWCMD though and I look forward to welcoming her back in the coming years.’Tim Rhys-EvansDirector of Music
After graduating from the Opera Course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Fiona pursued a career as a singer, performing principal roles for companies and festivals, television and radio across the world, including Semperoper Dresden, Teatro Comunale Bologna, Rossini Opera Festival Pesaro, New Zealand Opera, Covent Garden Festival, Dresden Festival, Perth Festival, and in recital on BBC, RTE and ABC Radio.
Among her qualifications Fiona holds a doctorate in Music Psychology, a Master of Counselling with Distinction, and a First Class Honours degree in Psychology.
She has held senior academic and teaching roles at leading universities and was Deputy Head of Opera and Lecturer in Musical Theatre at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts in Perth.
‘I am thrilled to join such a talented and friendly community of practice at RWCMD. I look forward to meeting the challenge of combining the highest quality of artistic educational experience with a genuine interest in the welfare of students and ambition for their future flourishing.
After many years working internationally in the performing arts and music, from performing in opera houses and re-imagined spaces, to teaching in conservatoires and more recently in the psychotherapeutic care of creatives, I relish the chance to nurture young creative minds.
As a fellow Celt, this longing hiraeth has brought these experiences together in Wales, the Land of Song. I am honoured to promote the ancient and modern art of voice around the world, creating connections with many of the places I have lived with their own sense of longing and storytelling.’Fiona McAndrewincoming Head of Vocal Studies
