When and where was your first experience of music / singing?

I began playing the violin when I was 4 and the piano when I was 5, but I only started singing when I joined the boys choir Libera in London when I was 7. We were both the resident choir at St Philip’s, Norbury, and an internationally-touring choir sponsored by EMI. Through Libera I trained for 10+ hours a week and was given the opportunity to sing to concert halls of thousands of people in Japan, Korea, the Philippines, and the US.

Where did you grow up? Did you have access to classical music?

My dad sells violins and is a great fan of orchestral classical music, so there is often music playing in the house. I have 3 sisters and all of us have played instruments since we were young. Although we have, over the years, given up / taken on different instruments, there is pretty much always someone doing some practice somewhere in the house.

What has been your most memorable performance so far?

I recently had the opportunity to perform a solo recital in a church in Wylde Green. I sang 45 minutes of Lieder, including works by Fauré, Schubert, Strauss, Wolf, Vaughan Williams, and Gurney, with a brilliant accompanist and a really lovely audience. I love singing Lieder and enjoy weaving stories out of combinations of songs, using each song to demonstrate a new aspect of a character or their journey. My concert in Wylde Green told the story of a traveller who fell in love with an illusion and, after finding out, struggles to come to terms with the loss. The story was inspired by Fauré’s poème d’un jour, a set of three songs which tell the story of a love found and lost in a day.

In 2020 I performed Mahler’s Symphony of a thousand with the University of Birmingham Voices; the City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus, youth chorus, and children’s chorus; and the CBSO in Symphony Hall in Birmingham. An absolutely amazing experience to be part of such a huge project, and completely humbling to be one of so many voices and such a powerful piece of music.

What are you looking forward to with Genesis Sixteen?

As much as I love huge works like Mahler 8, I also love the clarity which can be achieved by small groups. It is exhilarating to be one of only a few singers; part of the team and the overall sound, and yet easily picked out from the other parts.

Outside of singing, what do you like to do in your spare time?

Aside from singing (and my other music), I love to cook. At Uni in Birmingham my housemates and I have a cooking rota and, although it’s not a competition, we are quite competitive, so everyone tends to try new and exciting recipes. Even when things don’t go to plan we all have a good time! The rota was really helpful while we were all in Birmingham during Covid as it gave us something to think about and introduced some variety from the monotony of work, Netflix, and board games.

Are you still in education? Are you in any other young artists schemes?

I have just finished my undergraduate degree at the University of Birmingham with a BA/BSc in Liberal Arts and Natural Sciences.

Outside of performances with Genesis Sixteen, have you got any concerts coming up?

My final recital for my vocal performance module at the University of Birmingham was in June, and it consisted of some of the same music as my recital in Wylde Green. I  also performed Stravinky’s Symphony of Psalms and Orff’s Carmena Burana at the Proms in July with the University of Birmingham, City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus, and CBSO.