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.

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.

Susanna Stranders

Susanna Stranders began her musical training with Harpenden Musicale. In 1998, she graduated from Exeter University with a first-class honours degree in music, having won the major performance prize. With support from the Harpenden Music Foundation, she then completed two years as a postgraduate accompanist at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, where she won the Accompanists’ Prize, the Schubert Lieder Prize, the John Ireland Prize and the Armourer’s and Brazier’s Prize. Susanna spent a third year at the GSMD as a répétiteur on the Opera Course.

As opera coach at the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, she was supported by the Sir Henry Richardson Award (Musicians Benevolent Fund) 2000-02 and a bursary from the Magro Foundation. She was répétiteur for Cincinnati Opera in 2002 and for San Francisco Opera’s Merola Programme in the summer of 2003. In 2003-04, she was a member of the Houston Grand Opera Studio, Texas.

Susanna was a répétiteur on the Young Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden between 2004-2006. Since then, she has been working regularly for the ROH, for the Glyndebourne Festival and Tour, for the Philharmonia orchestra, for the Festspiele and Landestheater, Salzburg, in masterclasses with José Cura for New Devon Opera, has accompanied Bryn Terfel in recital and has broadcast live for the BBC.

Susanna is a Senior Opera Coach at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and for the Cardiff International Academy of Voice, on the staff at Oxenfoord International Summer School and is resident pianist for the Musicale Young Artists Programme.

Danielle Perrett & Timothy Kipling

We have been performing as a duo since 1989, and have played in many prestigious venues including  Buckingham Palace, St. James’ Palace (for Her Majesty, The Queen), Kensington Palace, The Palace of Versailles, Lancaster House (beside Buckingham Palace), the Tower of London,  St. Paul’s Cathedral, The Victoria and Albert, Natural History and British Museums, the Banqueting House in Whitehall, the Royal Academy, the National Gallery and Portrait Gallery, at the top of the “Gherkin” building and even inside The Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner.
We have given performances of the Mozart Concerto for flute and harp, the venues for our Recitals have included The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the Fairfield Halls, Croydon and Spencer House.
Our individual orchestral work includes playing with the major symphony, chamber, opera and ballet orchestras and in the West End theatres. We have appeared in, and recorded soundtracks for such films as The Phantom of the Opera, Persuasion, Emma, and Topsy-Turvy
Danielle has recorded several acclaimed solo CDs, and we have recorded works written for and dedicated to us.

Tony Bell

Tony Bell has been an actor for over twenty years appearing in many West End shows including A Man for all Seasons, for which he was nominated for an Evening Standard Award, A Midsummer Nights Dream, Twelfth Night, The Taming of the Shrew, The English Game and Rose Rage (based on Shakespeare’s Henry VI). He has also performed in New York, Japan, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, Indonesia, The Phillipines, Malaysia and Europe with the award-winning all-male Shakespeare company, Propeller, for whom he has played many of the leading clowns and fools including Bottom, Feste, Autolyclus and Tranio. 

Tony is also a musician, singer and compere. He is the front man and musical director for the Propeller acoustic band gigging all over the world in tandem with the shows. He toured his Memory Man Act all over the UK for corporate and private functions and was MC for corporate Christmas functions at Camden Town Hall for four years. He is also a juggler, children’s entertainer and has been an exuberant and well-padded Father Christmas for Harrods, Selfridges and Hamleys.

Tony’s television credits include Coronation Street, Holby City, Midsummer Murders, East Enders and The Bill. He is also a radio and voice over artist.

Peter Grant

Born and Educated in Edinburgh. He studied with Adrian Thompson at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Since leaving the Guildhall in 2000 Peter has led a busy freelance operatic career and worked with the Royal Opera House, Scottish Opera, English Touring Opera, Holland Park Opera, Carl Rosa Opera, Garsington Opera, Garden Opera, Co Opera Ireland and Clonter Opera. His repertoire includes Leporello Don Giovanni, Don Alfonso Cosi fan tutte, Figaro Le nozze di Figaro, Papageno The Magic Flute, Colline la boheme, Peter Quince A Midsummer Night's Dream, Banquo Macbeth, Dick Deadeye HMS Pinafore, Polyphemus Acis and Galatea, Frank Die Fledermaus and Angelotti Tosca. Peter is equally at home on the concert platform and has recently perfromed as Bass soloist in Bach's Christmas Oratorio, Mendelssohn's Elijah, Handel's Messiah, Mozart's Requiem and Faure's Requiem. Peter also sings regularly with the Scottish tenor Elliot Goldie in the vocal duo Goldie and Grant. Last summer they performed together with the Scottish Symphony Orchestra in front of 10,000 at the Scottish Prom Concert, Glamis Castle.

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.

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.

Cameron Rolls

Born Cameron Rolls Tenor was born in Somerset and studied at the Trinity College of Music. He was a principal artist with Wuppertaler Bühnen and Koblenz from 1993 to 1999. A guest artist in Hannover, Oldenburg and Gelsenkirchen. Roles in Germany include Don José Carmen, Alfred Die Fledermaus, Camille Die Lustige Witwe, Tamino Die Zauberflöte, Ernesto Don Pasquale, Rodolfo La Bohème, Rinuccio Gianni Schicchi, Alfredo La Traviata, Paco La Vida Breve, Edgardo Lucia di Lammermoor, Pinkerton Madama Butterfly, Cavaradossi Tosca and Tony West Side Story.

He has performed The Seven Deadly Sins with the Wuppertaler Tanztheater Pina Bausch in Amsterdam.

Concert work includes The Verdi Requiem, Elgar The Kingdom, Handel Messiah, Mozart Die Krönungs-messe, Dvorak Requiem, and Saint-Saens Weihnachtsoratorium. For Diva Opera he has sung Don José, Nemorino L’elisir d’amore, Alfred, Cavaradossi, Alfredo, Basilio Le Nozze di Figaro, Tonio La Fille du Régiment, Duke Rigoletto, Rodolfo, Edgardo, Tamino and Rinuccio Gianni Schicchi.

He recently toured internationally with Opera Interludes singing Alfredo and Cavaradossi and sang Ernesto for Opera a la Carte in London. Forthcoming engagements include concert tours with Diva Opera and Opera Interludes and the role of Lensky Eugene Onegin for Haddo House Opera in Scotland.

Stephanie Lane

Stephanie Lane is a singer, actress, compere and voice-over artist.  Her most recent event as Compere was the Gala Evening held at the Britten Theatre at the Royal College of Music in Kensington.  The evening was organized by Penny David and Henry Roche, for the London charity Ashanti Development - raising vital funds to help tackle extreme poverty in Africa.  The Gala included music performed by Oliver Davies, Robert Gibbs, Adrian Bradbury and Henry Roche and dancers from The Royal Ballet performing new ballets by Liam Scarlett, Samantha Raine, Erico Montes and Vanessa Fenton's recent ballet "Song without Words".

As a mezzo-soprano, she has performed in numerous choral works at the Royal Albert Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Barbican, Sadlers Wells and Holland Park. Recordings include Promenade concerts for the BBC, "Noyes Fludde" by Benjamin Britten and various musical theatre credits including Moses, Joseph and His Techni-colour Dreamcoat and performing for Andrew Lloyd Webber's 50th Celebrations as part of the National Youth Music Theatre.

As an actress, Stephanie has appeared at the National Theatre, in London's West End, the Royal Opera House, in Fringe Venues and has toured the UK. Credits include The Wind in the Willows, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (National Theatre), The Demon Headmaster (National Theatre Studios), An Inspector Calls (Garrick Theatre), Hansel and Gretel (Holland Park Theatre), The Duchess of Malfi (The Space), Hell Inc. (Pleasance Theatre), Julius Caesar Jones (Sadlers Wells) and A River Seen from Richmond Hill (Etcetera Theatre). Amongst numerous TV and film credits, she is perhaps most notable for her comic role as the Games Mistress in The Worst Witch series for ITV. Her radio and voice-over work has extended from Shakespeare to broadcasting for the BBC World Service and she has also compered for a variety of charity and talent events.