 | 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. |
