It’s an honour to be singing on behalf of the Australian embassy at the commonwealth remembrance ceremony in The Hague on Remembrance Sunday. It’s a beautiful, traditional ceremony in the intimate setting of CWGC The Hague (Westduin) General Cemetery. The ceremony begins at 11:45 sharp.
I’m really looking forward to performing with Simple Harmonic Motion Music in Bibury, and idyllic village in the Cotswolds, England, on 30th October.
Our collaborative albums include Fantasia, Variations, and Voices in a Modern Style – do have a listen!
For concert tickets, see this link.
What a joy it was to work with the Marinierskapel der Koninklijke Marine under Erik van de Kolk!
“I shall love but thee” begins as an intimate setting of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18, full of longing. Then comes a joyful declaration of love (check out the trumpet solo, not to mention the party in the percussion section).
It’s a challenging piece with a scope of over two octaves. I’ve dreamt of singing it since I first heard it in 2019. Having spent the last eighteen months training as a lyric-dramatic soprano (certainly not abandoning mezzo repertoire, but building up to heavier soprano repertoire), I was thrilled to have the chance to sing it, especially with a the world-class orchestra.
On 1st July we commemorated the Battle of the Somme, 110 years on.
To mark the occasion, there were some very special guests: HRH the Princess Royal, HRH the Duke of Gloucester, and Sir Timothy Lawrence.
Princess Anne spoke at the Thiepval Memorial about the cost of war and the value of peace: a theme which continued throughout a busy day of commemorations.
I led the hymns at the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing, upon which the names of over 72,000 missing men and boys are recorded.
At the Ulster Tower, the national war memorial of Northern Ireland, I sang two songs: one a capella (above) and one with the Band of the Royal Irish Regiment (below). The 36th Ulster Division fought extremely hard and had many casualties on the first day of the battle. The stories of some of the soldiers were read at the start of the ceremony.
Later in the day, we went to Guillemont, where the 16th Irish Division are commemorated. The Duke of Gloucester was there and laid a wreath.
It was a gorgeous day: sunny, some breeze, and, most strikingly, birdsong during the silence after each time the Last Post was sounded. It seemed as if nature herself was reminding us of the beauty of peace.
I’m really excited to be heading to Northern Ireland to sing for the Royal Black Institution’s annual parade and Sham Fight in Scarva. It’s a massive cultural event, with up to 100,000 people gathering to experience a day rich in history, music, and community tradition. I’m really honoured to have been invited to lead the singing for the main platform service and the remembrance ceremony. It’s going to be an unforgettable experience to step out in front of a crowd that size, balancing the vibrant, festive atmosphere of the parade with a powerful, shared moment of reflection.
For more information, see here.
I love English Song, especially from the early twentieth century. The music is lyric and accessible, composed with great respect for the text.
I’m deeply honoured to have been invited to sing for the 110th commemoration of the Battle of the Somme.
The first day of the Battle of the Somme, 1st July 1916, was the bloodiest day in British military history, with around 57,000 casualties in a single day.
Due to the extreme conditions – men and boys fighting machines in heavy mud – many of the dead were missing, either blown to pieces or sunk in the mud. The names of the missing are recorded on the Thiepval Memorial: over 72,000 men and boys from Britain, Ireland, and South Africa. The tragedy for their relatives and friends must have been immense: not knowing if the person would ever return, worrying that they were still alive but suffering or that they had been taken prisoner. The huge monument reflects this tragedy: it was described by F.R. Durham as “an empire of the silent dead.”
I will sing at the Thiepval Memorial in a ceremony on 1st July. For tickets and further information, please use this link.
I will also sing at the Ulster Tower, Northern Ireland’s national war memorial, and for the 16th Irish Division at their memorial at Guillemont. For more information, please see this webpage.