Grasmere Song, Ambleside (2026)

16/05/2026

We’re delighted to announce our main scholarship recipients for Grasmere Song 2026 who will make it up to the beautiful Lake District National Park in August and work with our wonderful tutors!

📣 Lauren Easton - Tanya Parish and Ken Duncan Singer Scholarship(awarded to a mid-career artist)

Lauren Easton is an Australian/Mauritian mezzo soprano who has been working as a professional musician across multiple genres since her teens and is now based in Brighton, UK.

📣 Christian Loizou - Adrian Clarke Singer Scholarship

Christian Loizou is a British Bass-Baritone, studying with Mark Wildman at the RNCM - Royal Northern College of Music. Currently Christian is performing the role of Un Doganiere, and covering the role of Colline in Puccini’s La Bohème at The Grange Festival

📣 Bella Marslen - Sarah Pring Singer Scholarship

Bella Marslen is part of the Royal College of Music International Opera Studio taught by Janis Kelly and a current Tait Trust awardee.

📣 Elizabeth Mwale - The Pegasus Scholarship in memory of Mary Heavenor (awarded jointly by Pegasus Opera & Glen and Jack Heavenor.)

Elizabeth Mwale is a Welsh/English mezzo soprano who has recently graduated from the Guildhall School Of Music, where she studied under vocal teacher John Evans.

📣 Jorn Quirijnen - Sarita Stern half scholarship for a pianist

Jorn Quirijnen is a Dutch collaborative pianist. He is currently pursuing his postgraduate studies in Collaborative Piano at the Royal College of Music, studying with leading artists including Simon Lepper, Roger Vignoles and Audrey Hyland.

📣 Carleigh Ross - Tanya Parish and Ken Duncan Singer Scholarship

Canadian-American soprano Carleigh Ross is a student at the Royal Academy of Music, pursuing a Masters of Vocal Studies.

📣 Harun Ellis Tekin - Suzanne Plaskett Singer Schloarship

Harun Ellis Tekin is an English/Turkish tenor from rural Lincolnshire. After graduating from the Guildhall School, Harun is currently studying opera at the Curtis Institute of Music.

👉 Part scholarship deadline and the last opportunity to apply to join as a resident is next Wednesday 20th May! 🎶

10/05/2026

We’re delighted to welcome the English mezzo-soprano Dame Janet Baker to Grasmere Song this summer. Her immediate success was winning second prize in the 1956 The Kathleen Ferrier Awards competition and this allowed her to pursue her dream of performing on the bigger stage. Famed for her roles at Glyndebourne, English National Opera and her close collaboration with Benjamin Britten she became one of the greatest British singers and was awarded with a CBE in 1970. Her final performance came as Orfeo in Gluck's Orfeo and Euridice at Glyndebourne in 1982. We will honour Dame Janet in our Chapel Concert at Ambleside Parish Centre and St Mary’s Church on Friday 21st August, which also happens to be her birthday, and she will join Audrey Hyland in observing classes and rehearsals to see the students in action.

01/05/2026

You won’t want to miss an opportunity to join the Professional Path and meet our team of agents, casting directors and industry insiders, covering CV’s, ‘From Nerves to Presence’ and ‘The Singers Reset’ with Andrew Radley and a Q&A with our Patron Karen Cargill. We offer students the ‘General Audition’…. what to expect when auditioning for music colleges, competitions, summer festivals and national companies, replicating the closed audition room.

TUES 18th - SUN 23rd AUGUST 2026 in the beautiful Lake District, www.grasmeresong.co.uk

👉 The Full Scholarship deadline End of Day Friday 1st May 2026
👉 The Residential and Part Scholarship deadline Wednesday 20th May 2026

Panellists for the Auditions will include -

📣 Nina Brazier, Industry Insider and Staff Director at Oper Frankfurt

📣 Matthew Broom, Head of Casting & Talent Development English National Opera

📣 Christine Jane Chibnall, Casting Director & Chair of the Jury for the 71st The Kathleen Ferrier Awards Awards 2026

📣 Scott Cooper, Director of Artistic Administration, The Grange Festival

📣 Josef Fuchs, Casting Director & Career Coach

📣 Helen Hogh, Director of Vocal Artists, Groves Artists Management

📣 Audrey Hyland, Head of Vocal & Opera Royal College of Music and Artistic Director of Grasmere Song

📣 Megan Nelson, Welsh National Opera Cenedlaethol Cymru

📣 Flora McIntosh, Mezzo Soprano & Artistic Director of OperaUpClose

📣 Steve Phillips, Career Coach & Course Director of Grasmere Song

📣 Sue Spence, Director Askonas Holt & Chair of Board of Trustees of Grasmere Song

01/05/2026

You won’t want to miss an opportunity to work with the incredible coaches/staff pianists in rehearsals, classes and performance in the beautiful Lake District! TUES 18th - SUN 24rd AUGUST 2026, www.grasmeresong.co.uk

👉 6 Full Scholarships Deadline, End of Day Fri 1st May
👉 Part Scholarship & Residential Deadline, Wed 20th May

Avishka Edirisinghe 📣 is a British/Sri-Lankan pianist and conductor specialising in Opera. Avishka joins the Jette Parker Artist programme 2026-2028

Gamal Khamis 📣 has won major prizes at the Royal Over-Seas League Music Competition and the Ferrier Awards. He made his debut at the Wigmore Hall at the age of ten.

Margaret Marinkovic 📣 Accompanist, Coach, Repetiteur and supporter of DaCapo Music Foundation.

Nicola Rose 📣 has a passion for education, outreach and community work and has worked as a pianist and workshop leader for Welsh National Opera.

Daniel Peter Silcock 📣 is a Scottish pianist currently based in London and specialising in song accompaniment.

Alice Turner 📣 is an award-winning accompanist, repetiteur and vocal coach. She works on the music staff of the Royal College of Music as an accompanist, coach and repetiteur.

01/05/2026

You won’t want to miss an opportunity to work with the following teachers, educators and musicians in the beautiful Lake District! TUES 18th - SUN 24rd AUGUST 2026, www.grasmeresong.co.uk

👉 6 Full Scholarships Deadline, End of Day Fri 1st May
👉 Part Scholarship & Residential Deadline, Wed 20th May

📣 Audrey Hyland - Artistic Director 📣
Audrey is a distinguished educator and musician with over 25 years of experience in conservatoire teaching. She joined the Royal College of Music in 2017 as Deputy Head of Vocal and Opera where her expertise and guidance has shaped the careers of the next generation. Audrey was appointed Head of Vocal and Opera at the RCM in July 2025. Her work spans a range of prestigious institutions, the Jette Parker Artists Programme and the Solti course in Italy. Last year countertenor Hugh Cutting presented Refound, his debut recital album with pianist Audrey Hyland.

📣 Harriet Burns 📣
British soprano Harriet Burns is in demand for her polished, witty, expressive and sweet toned (the Times) singing both in recital and on stage. With her regular duo-partner, Ian Tindale, she released an album of Schubert Lieder Love's Lasting Power to critical acclaim, and also A short story of falling, they are delighted that this disc launch will be part of the Oxford International Song Festival in Spring 2026.

📣 Jo Ramadan 📣
Jo began his music studies as a chorister at Chapel Royal St James’s Palace. After graduating from Durham University, he studied at the Royal College of Music with John Blakely and Roger Vignoles. He is Director of Music at St Vedast Foster Lane, accompanist and professor of vocal repertoire at the RCM. He regularly returns to Samling Institute as a leader for Samling Academy.

📣 William Vann 📣
A multiple prize winning and critically acclaimed conductor and accompanist, William has collaborated across the world with orchestras, singers and instrumentalists, the Academy of Ancient Music, Britten Sinfonia and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. William is also the Artistic Director of the London English Song Festival, the Director of Music at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, Chorus Master of The Grange Festival, the Musical Director of Dulwich Choral Society and the Musical Director of The London Chorus.

📣 Duncan Williams 📣
Duncan studied at the Royal College of Music and, subsequently, at the age of twenty-three, was offered the position of Trainee Répétiteur at the English National Opera under the tutelage of Sir Mark Elder. Since 1997 he has been working freelance for many of the major international festivals including Salzburg and Glyndebourne. Duncan has had a close relationship with the latter, where he specialises in 19th and 20th Century German and Czech repertoire. Duncan has had a relationship with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland for the last 20 years as both a teacher and visiting coach and has now taken up the post of full-time coach in the Opera Department.

01/05/2026

You won’t want on miss an opportunity to work with the following teachers, educators and musicians in the beautiful Lake District! TUES 18th - SUN 24rd AUGUST 2026, www.grasmeresong.co.uk

👉 6 Full Scholarships Deadline, End of Day Fri 1st May
👉 Part Scholarship & Residential Deadline, Wed 20th May

📣 Richard Farnes CBE 📣
Richard was Music Director of Opera North in Leeds from 2004 to 2016, embarking with them on an ambitious project to perform Wagner’s Ring semi-staged, which culminated in 2016 with six highly acclaimed complete Ring Cycles across the UK and streamed online. He has conducted orchestras across the globe and in the UK, including all the BBC orchestras, working with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the BBC Proms in London.

📣 Wilma MacDougall 📣
Wilma has worked as a vocal lecturer at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland for seventeen years. Her students have sung at many of the world’s top opera houses and concert halls. She is recognised for her technical expertise, extensive repertoire knowledge and dedication to her students. A keen recitalist and concert performer, Wilma has performed throughout Europe alongside conductors including Sir Charles Mackerras and Stephen Cleobury.

📣 Andrew Smith 📣
Andrew has nearly thirty years of operatic experience with ENO, Glyndebourne and Garsington. He attended the Royal Academy of Music as a postgraduate accompanist and has performed at the UK’s most prestigious recital venues, including the Wigmore Hall, as well as across Europe. Much in demand as a vocal coach, he works regularly with students at the Academy and the Royal College of Music.

📣 Ian Tindale 📣
British pianist Ian Tindale is forging a career as one of the next generation of specialists in song repertoire. Increasingly in demand across the UK and Europe, he has partnered singers at London’s Wigmore Hall, Palau de la Músicain Barcelona and Het Concertgebouw, Amsterdam. Ian is also an active chamber musicianand coach, and is Artistic Director of Shipston Song, the UK’s newest song festival, which he founded in 2022.

30/04/2026

You won’t want to miss an opportunity to work with the following teachers, educators and musicians in the beautiful Lake District! TUES 18th - SUN 23rd AUGUST, www.grasmeresong.co.uk

👉 6 Full Scholarships Deadline, End of Day Fri 1st May
👉 Part Scholarship & Residential Deadline, Wed 20th

📣 Iain Burnside 📣
Thanks to prolific careers both as pianist and award-winning broadcaster, Iain is one of the UK’s best-known musicians. A Scottish classical pianist and accompanist, the Singers he has worked and recorded with include Dame Margaret Price, Galina Gorchakova,Lawrence Brownlee, Rosa Feolaand Roderick Williams, with whom he has recorded the complete Finzi baritone songs. In addition to a long association with London’s GSMD, Iain is Visiting International Artist at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, Dublin.

📣 David Cowan 📣
David has been Head of Music at Opera North since 2015. He works regularly as a guest coach at the RNCM, at the Jette Parker Young Artist programme at the Royal Opera House, London, and at the Opera Studio of the Irish National Opera. As piano-accompanist he has worked and performed with many singers, including Simon Keenlyside and Dame Kiri te Kanawa, and with string players including the great French cellist, Maurice Gendron

📣 Ashok Gupta 📣
As a pianist, harpsichordist and organist, Ashok has performed in many of the world's major music festivals including the BBC Proms and Salzburg Festival, and venues such as Wigmore Hall and Elbphilharmonie. He is increasingly in demand as a conductor, having assisted several times at Garsington Festival, Opera North, Royal Danish Opera and Opéra Rouen since 2020.

📣 Professor Stephen Robertson 📣
Stephen was Head of Vocal Performance at RCS for eleven years, bringing to the post the multi-disciplinary skills of singer, teacher and voice researcher. He has become an internationally recognised authority on resonance and registration in the male classical voice. Stephen’s research on the male passaggio has been published in the Journal of Singing, in an article, “Using the Second Formant to Achieve Professional Classical Quality in the Male Singing Voice.”�

30/04/2026

You won’t want to miss an opportunity to work with the following teachers, educators and musicians in the beautiful Lake District! TUES 18th - SUN 23rd AUGUST 2026, www.grasmeresong.co.uk

👉 6 Full Scholarships Deadline, End of Day Fri 1st May
👉 Part Scholarship & Residential Deadline, Wed 20th

📣 Sir Thomas Allen 📣
An established star of the great opera houses of the world, he has sung over fifty roles at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. An acclaimed recitalist on the concert platform, he has appeared with the world’s great orchestras and conductors. His masterclasses are prestigious vocal workshops, often held at institutions like the Royal College of Music where the legendary baritone offers insights into opera and Lieder.

📣 Dave Doidge 📣
A coach, pianist/répétiteur and Chorus director, David has worked at many of the UK opera houses, including Glyndebourne and English National Opera. Previously a full-time member of Music Staff at Welsh National Opera, he has worked with many internationally acclaimed artists. He is a visiting coach for the Opera School and Vocal Performance at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and is a Music Advisor to Decca Records.

📣 Alessandro Fisher 📣
Raised in a bilingual Italo-English household, Alessandro went on to read Italian at Clare College, Cambridge. He then obtained a Masters from the GSMD, and has since enjoyed a successful career as a performer - performing at the Royal Opera House, the Salzburg Festival and Glyndebourne. It is his love for languages and communication that has always given focus to his work, relishing the opportunity to help people gain a deeper understanding of the Italian language in preparation for a performance.

📣 Jane Irwin 📣
Head of Vocal Performance and Opera at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Jane has appeared regularly in Britain, Europe and America in Concert. Highlights have included appearances at the Carnegie Hall, New York, the BBC Proms, the Wigmore Hall, the EIF, the Berlin Festival, the Concertgebouw, and the Musikverein, Vienna. Operatic appearances have included Ring Cycles at Bayreuth, ROH and Scottish Opera, and other leading roles with Deutsche Oper, Berlin, and San Francisco Opera.

30/04/2026

You won’t want to miss an opportunity to work with the following teachers, educators and musicians in the beautiful Lake District! TUES 18th - SUN 23rd AUGUST 2026, www.grasmeresong.co.uk

👉 6 Full Scholarships Deadline, End of Day Fri 1st May
👉 Part Scholarship & Residential Deadline, Wed 20th May

📣 James Garnon 📣
James Garnon trained at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and Edinburgh University. He has performed in over 20 productions at Shakespeare’s Globe. James is a Globe Associate Artist and a member of the Higher Education Faculty for whom he has taught both actors and directors. Aside from varied film and television work, he has also regularly worked as a masterclass leader for the Samling Artist Programme and Samling Academy.

📣 Ann Murray DBE 📣
Ann Murray DBE’s extraordinary career has taken her to the greatest opera houses and orchestras in the world. She conducts high-intensity, expert-level opera and song masterclasses focusing on Handel, Mozart, and Strauss. She works with students on technical precision, dramatic delivery, and lyrical phrasing,

📣 Mary Nelson 📣
Mary was a company principal with English National Opera where her roles included ‘Susanna’, ‘Pamina’, ‘Dalinda’, she also performed Poulenc’s Gloria at The Royal Opera House. In 2015, Mary became a Professor of Singing at the Academy and in 2025 was additionally appointed as a Vocal Professor at the Royal College of Music. She regularly gives Masterclasses and adjudicates competitions

📣 Dylan Perez 📣
Described as “sublime and completely intuitive” (The Sunday Times), pianist Dylan Perez is a recitalist, chamber musician and coach specialising in vocal repertoire. Dylan is the founder of re-sung, a London based song recital series that focuses on the connection between text and music, with special interest on creating new interpretations of masterworks and championing contemporary songs.

29/04/2026

You won’t want to miss an opportunity to work with the following teachers, educators and musicians in the beautiful Lake District! TUES 18th - SUN 23rd AUGUST www.grasmeresong.co.uk

👉 6 Full Scholarships Deadline, End of Day Fri 1st May
👉 Part Scholarship & Residential Deadline, Wed 20th May

📣 Christopher Glynn 📣
Described by The Times as having ‘beauties and insights aplenty’ and praised in Gramophone for his ‘breathtaking sensitivity.’ Chris enjoys working with young musicians and has given masterclasses throughout Europe. He is also a course leader for the Samling Foundation and has adjudicated many international competitions.

📣 James Holmes 📣
James is equally at home in the worlds of opera and musical theatre, he enjoys a strikingly varied career. He has also been invited to major international houses such as Glyndebourne and the Metropolitan Opera, New York as well as international festivals such as Salzburg and Aix-en-Provence. He has acquired a reputation as an advocate of American musical theatre with major productions of works by Stephen Sondheim, Gershwin and Rodgers and Hammerstein among others!

📣 Nicky Spence OBE 📣
Our Patron of Grasmere Song is winner of the BBC Musician Magazine Personality of the Year 2022, Opera Singer Nicky Spence is an artist and broadcaster of great integrity and one of Scotland’s proudest sons. Nicky was made an OBE in the King's inaugural Birthday Honours in 2023 for services to Music and received the Singer Award from the Royal Philharmonic Society in 2024. Nicky gives masterclasses Internationally and is a visiting professor at both the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music, London.

📣 Lada Valešová 📣
Czech-British conductor Lada Valešová brings the vast wealth of her professional experience as a music director, pianist, and a vocal and language coach to her conducting, uniting the various strands of her expertise and drawing on each facet of her musicianship. Lada is greatly invested in passing on her knowledge and expertise to a young new generation of musicians and artists. She has a longstanding association with the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, starting first as a student and then as a member of the Vocal Faculty.

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