Dervla Ramsay

Born in Derry, N. Ireland, she studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. In 1993 she was the winner of the Ulster Bank Music Foundation Award for Young Irish Musicians (RTE, The Late Late Show), which enabled her to continue her studies in Italy with various teachers including Margarita Rinaldi and Renata Scotto.

In 1994 she won the Concorso Internazionale di Bagna di Lucca and made her debut as Volpino (Haydn’s Lo speziale). While in Italy she sang with various companies including Teatro Communale, Florence and Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa, where she sang La Cenerentola in a televised performance of opera extracts with Renata Scotto. A member of the Royal Opera Chorus since September 1999, her solo roles have included Lolette (La Rondine, Puccini), Contess Ceprano (Rigoletto, Verdi), Trainbearer (Elektra, Strauss) and Third Page (Lohengrin, Wagner).

She sang the role of Cenerentola in the ROH Linbury Theatre production of the ‘Sixty Minute Cinderella’.

Her oratorio experience includes the mezzo roles in the Messiah (Handel), Nelson Mass (Haydn), St. Matthew Passion (Bach), Elijah (Mendellsohn), Requiem (Mozart), Gloria (Vivaldi).

Dervla has also sung with the Covent Garden Big Band at tea dance events in the Floral Hall of the Royal Opera House.

Jonathan Williams

Jonathan studied music at Clare College, Cambridge, and musical theatre at the Royal Academy of Music. He now works as a pianist, vocal coach, musical director and singer.

Musical direction credits include: Awaking Beauty (Stephen Joseph Theatre); Salt (Theatre Rites/Ruhr Triennale); Cattle Call (Phoenix Dance Theatre); The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (Chichester Festival Theatre); Six Pictures of Lee Miller (Minerva Theatre, Chichester); Calamity Jane (national tour); Bernice Bobs her Hair (RADA) and Kiss of the Spiderwoman (Guildhall). He was assistant musical director of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Carousel (both Chichester Festival Theatre). As a repetiteur, Jonathan has worked for the Manchester International Festival (The Ground Beneath Her Feet); Scottish Chamber Orchestra (When the Earth Sings) and Grange Park Opera (Wonderful Town). He also worked as vocal coach on a production of The Medium by Peter Maxwell Davies (Muziektheater Transparant, Antwerp).

Performing credits as a singer include: The Voluptuous Tango (Almeida Opera); My One and Only (Chichester Festival Theatre); Me and My Girl (Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham); Jerry Springer: The Opera (Battersea Arts Centre) and Zipp! (Duchess Theatre). He has performed throughout the UK and Europe with The Shout, a sixteen-voice a cappella choir, and works regularly for the education departments of the Royal Opera House and ENO.

Elliot Goldie

Born in Hawick, Scotland, he studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama on the undergraduate and opera courses. He was the winner of the inaugural Kathleen Ferrier Bursary Award in 1996. His operatic experience includes excerpts from Billy Budd, Don Giovanni, The Rape of Lucretia, Turandot, Eugene Onegin and Fidelio. He has also sung Tiberge (Le Portrait de Manon) Ramon (La Navarraise) and Bobil (The Snow Maiden) with the GSMD. He has appeared with the Scottish Opera Chorus in Macbeth, Le Roi Arthus, Il trovatore and Ines de Castro. His concert performances include Messiah, Elijah and Bach’s Christmas Oratorio. A member of the Royal Opera Chorus, he made his solo debut with the Royal Opera in 2001 as the Notary in La sonnambula and has also sung Young Man in La rondine, Gaston de Letorieres in La traviata, Villager in I Pagliacci with Placido Domingo and Capitano in Simon Boccanegra. He has also sung the role of Starbuck in the world premier performance of Call Me Ishmael by Gary Goldschneider in the Stadschouwberg Theatre in Amsterdam. Being from Scotland Elliot has sung at various functions including many Burns Suppers and St Andrews Night Concerts. He has also compered several Scottish Tattoos including one at the Royal Albert Hall. Elliot has sung at the Scottish Proms at Glamis Castle for the past two years in both Scottish and Opera evenings.

Cheryl Enever

Having graduated as a cellist with a first class honours degree, lyric soprano Cheryl Enever began studying singing with Janice Chapman. She currently studies with Jennifer
Caron, Arwel Trahern-Morgan, Ludmilla Andrew and Philip Thomas.

Cheryl's operatic roles include Tosca in London, Luxembourg and Bermuda for Opera a la Carte, she recently created the role of Joanna in a newly commissioned opera for ROH, Ludd and Isis, Tatiana, Eugene Onegin, Franzi, Wienerblut, Donna Anna, Don Giovanni, First Lady, Magic Flute and the title role in Katya Kabanova (cover) for English Touring Opera; Fiordiligi Cosi fan Tutte and Pamina, Magic Flute for Opera a la Carte; Countess Almaviva, Le Nozze di Figaro and Donna Anna under Ben Ellin; Countess, Capriccio for The Wagner Society; Eva, Der Meistersinger, (excerpts) for the Mastersingers under Anthony Legge at the Linbury Studio Theatre, Covent Garden; Tamiri, Il Re Pastore for the Classical Opera Company; and Sandrina; L'infedeltà delusa for Bampton Classical Opera.

Highlights of Cheryl's concert work include Verdi Requiem (Cadogan Hall, Blackheath Concert Halls and Stowe Chapel); Brahms Requiem, Mahler Fourth and Eighth Symphonies (Bath International Festival); Beethoven Ninth Symphony and Mass in C (Rochester Cathedral); Mozart C Minor Mass, Requiem (St John’s Smith Square, King’s College Chapel, Cambridge) Vesperae solomnes de confessore and Exsultate Jubilate (Queen Elizabeth Hall); Fanshawe African Sanctus; Handel Messiah with the London Festival Orchestra.

Current and future engagements include concerts at St John's Smith Square and Gluck’s Il parnaso confuso at the South Bank Centre.

Tamsin Dalley

Born in in London where she studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Recent operatic roles include Mauxalinda ‘The Dragon of Wantley’ by John Lampe with the Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin [cond. Gary Cooper], at the Potsdam Festival in Germany [Opera Restor’d], Kera ‘The Minotaur’ by Harrison Birtwistle [cond. Antonio Pappano] for The Royal Opera, Covent Garden [world premiere], The Witch ‘Hansel and Gretel’ with the BBC Concert Orchestra [cond. by Charles Hazelwood] at The Queen Elizabeth Hall and Chichester Festival, The Mayor’s Wife ‘Jenufa’ at the Endellion Festival [cond. Richard Hickox], Anna in ‘Tobias and the Angel’ by Jonathan Dove for New Sussex Opera, Prince Orlofsky ‘Die Fledermaus’ with Jose Carreras as guest artist [Switzerland/Diva Opera], Iolanthe ‘Iolanthe’ [Gilbert and Sullivan] for The D’Oyly Carte, Carmen [Riverside Opera, European Chamber Opera], Mercedes ‘Carmen’ [Opera Ireland] and die Vertraute ‘Elektra’ [BBC Prom, Albert Hall]. Tamsin has sung Third Lady ‘The Magic Flute’, Flora ‘La Traviata’ and Rosette ‘Manon’ by Massenet, Baba the Turk ‘The Rake’s Progress’ by Stravinsky for English Touring Opera. Tamsin has performed Third Lady ‘Die Zauberflote’ for London City Opera [London/US Tour], Holland Park Opera, Milan Opera Festival, Longborough Festival Opera and Garsington Opera [cover].

Other roles include The Old Prioress ‘Les Dialogues des Carmelites’ by Poulenc [Aldeburgh Festival], Madam Larina in ‘Eugene Onegin’ [Opera by Definition], Grimgerde ‘Die Walkure’ by Wagner [Newbury & Covent Garden Festivals], Third Orphan ‘Der Rosenkavalier’ [Spoleto Festival, Italy], Die Haushalterin [cover] ‘Die Schweigsame Frau’ by R Strauss [Garsington Opera], Martha ‘Patience and Sarah’ [Opera Amazons], Suor Zelatrice ‘Suor Angelica’ by Puccini and Hippolyta ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ by Britten [Broomhill Opera]. Tamsin has also sung Olga, Nicklausse, Marcellina and Fiamina in the British Premiere of Massenet’s ‘Griselidis’.

Tamsin has wide experience in oratorio, most recently singing in Bach’s St John Passion at Westminster Abbey, ‘Messiah’ at Leicester’s De Montfort Hall, the Verdi Requiem and Carl Jenkins’‘The Armed Man’ and ‘Stabat Mater’ conducted by the composer. She has devised recitals including some with poetry and English song on the life of William Wordsworth given at the poet’s house Rydal Mount in The Lake District.

Tamsin’s interest in contemporary music has taken her throughout Europe, performing works by composers such as Birtwistle, Gubailudina, Ligeti and Kantscheli. She has recorded two new works by American composers; ‘A Long Way’ a song cycle by Kevin Kasker and ‘Acts’ for mezzo and orchestra by Newton Strandberg, with the London Symphony Orchestra at EMI Studios, Abbey Road and sings Lucia on Roberto Alagna’s CD ‘Nessun Dorma’. Tamsin was also the voice behind the Fiat ‘Spirito di Punto’ advertising campaign.

Stewart Kempster

Born in Chirk, North Wales and he began his musical life as a parish church organist and choir master. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music with Mark Wildman and Iain Ledingham and whilst at the RAM he won many prizes and awards and took part in several masterclasses and concerts. He has since performed much of the Bass operatic repertoire with many different opera companies both at home and abroad. Roles include Banco Macbeth, Don Basilio Il Barbieri di Siviglia, Lodovico Otello, Father Truelove Rakes Progress, Zaccaria Nabbuco and Ffion Mac Cumhail in William Sweeney’s Gaelic opera An Turus performed with the Paragon Ensemble. He received critical acclaim for his portrayal of Porgy Porgy and Bess and the four villain roles in Tales of Hoffman for Wexford Festival Opera. Stewart is an accomplished oratorio singer and he has sung with all the major choirs and orchestras in Scotland in the works of Handel, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Haydn’s Creation, the requiems of Mozart, Fauré and Verdi with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Scottish National Orchestra and the Scottish Opera Orchestra. He has sung all the major works of J.S. Bach and many of his church cantatas in the City of London Bach Cantata Series. Stewart appears on a number of CD recordings, including Leighton’s Hymn to Matter and the Duruflé Requiem with the National Youth Choir and the SNO and several recordings and broadcasts from Wexford Festival Opera and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. He recently worked on the acedemy award winning soundtrack of the Lord of the Rings series of films working with the composer Howard Shore. His recent operatic work includes Leporello Don Giovanni, Sarastro Magic Flute and Superintendent Budd Albert Herring for the Opera Project and the Longborough Festival. Also with Diva Opera group, Colline La Bohème and Montorone Rigoletto and a European tour, singing Don Magnifico Cenerentola and Raimondo Lucia, taking him to many music festivals in France, Switzerland and Russia and culminating in a performance of Cenerentola in the legendary La Fenice opera house in Venice. When not performing, Stewart is an examiner to the Associated Board and in his spare time enjoys hill walking and driving his 1962 Rover 100 motor car.

Ben Thapa

Ben is an alumnus of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Royal College of Music, London, and currently works with Adrian Thompson.  Ben's first professional break came as part of the classical crossover group G4, runners up on the first series of ITV's The X Factor.
 
Ben is rapidly gaining experience on the opera stage, credits include Corebo (La Didone, GSMD), Telemaco (Il ritorno d'Ulisse, GSMD), Jephthe (Jephthe, Ryedale Festival), Tamino (Magic Flute, Kennet Opera) and Mat of the Mint (Beggars Opera, Royal Opera).
 
On the concert stage, Ben has a wideranging repertory, including Bach Evangelists, through Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Rachmaninov, Vaughan Williams and Elgar.  He recently made his St. John's, Smith Square debut with the Exmoor Singers (Mozart Requiem), and his Cadogan Hall debut with Sonitus and the Orion Orchestra (Vaughan Williams Serenade to Music/Tippett Negro Spirituals).
 
Future plans include First Prisoner and cover Florestan (Fidelio) for Garsington Opera, and Kudrjas (Katya Kabanova) for Scottish Opera.  He is on the reserve list for this year's intake at the National Opera Studio.

John Evanson

Originally from Burton-on-Trent, John is a music graduate of the University of Bristol, where he was also organ scholar at St. Mary Redcliffe church. It was there that he first started to study singing in earnest.  After receiving a first class mark for his final recitals, John remained in Bristol and became a Lay Clerk at the Cathedral, where he was also Acting Organist over the summer of 1998, until the summer of 2000 when he left to commence postgraduate vocal studies at the Royal Academy of Music with Janet Price and Timothy Barratt. He received the PGDipRAM in 2003.

An experienced soloist, he has performed with choral societies and choirs all over England and Northern Ireland. Recent works include: The Creation Haydn; Petite Messe Solonelle Rossini; St. Paul Mendelssohn; Reqiuems Mozart, Fauré, Duruflé and Guy Turner; Messiah Handel, St. John Passion, Magnificat and Mass in B minor Bach and various masses and cantatas. John has been a principal artist with Diva Opera, one of the country’s leading chamber opera groups and has toured France, Italy, Moscow, England and the Channel Islands taking ensemble rôles as well as: Jailer Tosca; Captain Eugene Onegin; Officer Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Uncle Yakuside Madama Butterfly.  Other operatic rôles include: Sarastro Die Zauberflöte; Commendatore Don Giovanni; Cross Crosshaulsen Paul Bunyan; Mikado The Mikado; Agamemnon La Belle Hélène; Hermit Der Freischütz with New Youth Opera and Pistol Falstaff with The Bright Angel Theatre Company. He also still enjoys professional choral singing and freelances with numerous choirs in and around London including: St. Paul’s Cathedral; Westminster Abbey; Westminster Cathedral; the London Oratory; Philharmonia Voices; Southwark Voices; The Armonico Consort; Ex Cathedra and The BBC Singers.

John still works as an organist and gained the ARCO diploma in 1996. He is also a recognised accompanist and repetiteur, having played for many concerts, auditions, recitals and exams, most regularly at the Royal Academy of Music. Since 2000 he has been accompanist to the Senior and Chamber Choirs of the Finchley Children’s Music Group and with them has toured Paris, Belgium, Reims and the South West of England. For Christmas 2005, FCMG released a best-selling charity CD which reached the Christmas number one spot in the Classic FM Chart.

For fun, when able, he plays with the London and Southern Counties Second Section Champion Brass Band, East London Brass (newly promoted to First Section). In 2005, he gave a charity performance of Tubby the Tuba with the Watford Philharmonic Orchestra and Richard Baker narrating and, in 2009, a part performance of the Vaughan-Williams Tuba Concerto with the Symphonic Wind Orchestra of North London.

John Morrissey

John is Irish but grew up in Birmingham where he trained  as an actor. He appeared iin many plays and a film for Channel Four, and took part in the William Poel verse speaking prize at the Royal  National theatre judged by Anthony Hopkins.. He then took up singing, studying with Robert Dean. He has sang for many companies, including Opera Ireland, Opera theatre Company ,Scottish Opera and Wexford Festival, His favourite roles are  Colline in (La Boheme) a role he has sung in eight  different productions, Satastro (The Magic Flute).  Don Basilio (The Barber of Seville) Sparafucile (Rigoletto) .and Angelotti (Tosca)  He joined the Royal Opera House Chorus in August 2005 where he has covered many main house parts and has recently sung the role of the Gaoler in Tosca with Bryn Terfel and Andrea Gheorghiu.

Robert Scamardella

Born in 1983, Robert Scamardella began to play and improvise at the piano at aged four and was awarded scholarships to study with celebrated British concert pianist Lucy Parham at the Guildhall School of Music. Whilst there he was a prize winner in all the major competitions as well as receiving further scholarships and awards from the Musicians’ Benevolent Fund, the Musicas Fund and the Ann Driver Trust, amongst others. He made his concerto debuts aged sixteen and his recital debuts a year later.

He came to national attention on becoming a finalist in the 2002 BBC Young Musician of the Year. Subsequently, he was awarded a scholarship to further his studies at the Guildhall with Joan Havill. Other prizes at the Guildhall included the Lescek Dessent Chopin Prize, the Romantic Piano Award and was the winner of the Professional Recital Prize of the Oxford International Music Festival in 2004.

In 2005, he was a selected artist for the Countess of Munster Musical Trust’s coveted Recital Scheme enabling engagements for two years across the UK. 2006 saw awards from the prestigious Myra Hess Foundation to study for a Masters degree in Music Performance at the Guildhall. In recent years, his studies have included working with pianists Stephen Kovacevich, Paul Lewis and Imogen Cooper. Future engagements include working with the Isle of Wight Symphony Orchestra, the Westminster Philharmonic Orchestra, the Worcestershire Symphony Orchestra and recital tours across the South of France.