Immersive vocal and theatrical-interpretive training designed for your needs
Set in the beautiful English countryside close to London, a safe place to explore your creative instincts on the stage.
BOA is excited to be working with outstanding and talented young musicians from conservatoires and universities from across the world, providing workshops, seminars and concerts throughout the year in the UK, including at the Guildford School of Acting studios, University of Surrey.
We offer personalised programmes of:
● Training that includes Movement, Yoga and Suzuki (Theatre Training)
● Alexander Technique
● Acting Workshop
● Singergetics (the integration and coordination of the three modes that are voice, facial-emotional and kinesthetic)
● Coaching work with Caroline Dowdle, Aleksandra Myslek, Theo Vinden and Craig White.
● Studio Class
● Opera Scenes
● Reflective Practice for balanced and sustainable careers
Master Classes in London and Guildford locations with artists including:
● ALLAN GLASSMAN, Metropolitan Opera, Voice Faculty Roosevelt University, Chicago
● JAMIE BARTON, world-renowned Mezzo soprano, leading cast member in productions such as Il Trovatore (Alzucena) at Covent Garden
● JENNIFER FRANCE, known everywhere for her extraordinary performances of Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos
● RON ULEN, baritone with a successful 20-year career in Germany, Switzerland and the United States
● CAROLINE DOWDLE, Covent Garden Jette Parker Young Artist Programme
● Class in Jazz Vocal Improv presented by Royal Academy of Music professor jazz pianist DOMINIC ALLDIS, with concert of cabaret-style performances of classic tunes by Porter, Gershwin, and Berlin
● Nutrition for Singers from baritone DUNCAN ROCK of the Metropolitan Opera and the Glyndebourne Opera
Performance Opportunities for participants:
● Solo aria/song concerts in London and UK
● Opera and Musical Theatre scenes on established music performance series
Recent Performances:
‘THE FACES OF PASSION’, Colet House, London
‘A CELEBRATION OF SPRING AND THE LIFE OF PETER FENWICK’, Colet House, London
Ron Ulen, Eve Pearson Maxwell, Sofia Baghulo, Thomas Lidgley
‘2025 OPERA FESTIVAL…ACT 1’; Conservatoire Concerts, Godalming, Surrey
BRITISH OPERA ACADEMY PERFORMERS:
SOFIA BAGULO, SOPRANO
Lisbon-native soprano Sofia Bagulho is a master’s student at the Royal College of Music in London, studying voice with Amanda Roocroft and Jo Ramadan. She is a Sussex Scholar. Sofia was admitted to the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, where she completed a Bachelor's degree graduating with First Honours, being awarded Trinity Laban Silver Medal. Her operatic works include cover for Norina in Don Pasquale for Longhope’s Opera, Susanna and Barbarina in Le Nozze di Figaro, Armida (Haydn), Marzellina in Fidelio. She has been awarded 1st prize in Bendada International Music Festival and Terras de Santiago, and 2nd Prize in MIMC, EMA and BIMC. She also won the Concerto Prize with Circolo della Lirica di Padova. She has given recitals in the USA, Portugal, Italy and UK.
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SOPHIE BENFIELD, SOPRANO
Sophie Benfield is currently in her 2nd year Master’s course as a scholar at The Royal Academy of Music under the tutelage of Kate Paterson, John Lattimore and Iain Ledingham. Sophie’s opera career started with Bedfordshire Youth Opera performing Antonia (Les Contes d’Hoffman) Sophie has also performed the roles of Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), Souer Blanche (Les Dialogues des Carmelites) and Marietta (Die Tote Stadt) all with the Royal Academy Opera Scenes. Sophie has also had a wide range of oratorio performances including the soprano solos in Beethoven 9th with the Edinburgh Chamber Society and her recent performance in Truro Cathedral performing the soprano solos in the infamous ‘Elijah’. She has also been featured as a soloist in various prestigious venues, such as St. Martin-in-the-Fields and Wigmore Hall. Sophie has just finished 8 production’s of Eugene Onegin with Hamstead Garden Opera which has just been nominated for 2 prestigious awards. Sophie made her role debut with Royal Academy Opera as Erste Dame in Die Zauberflöte by Mozart in Spring 2025.
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XIAOMIN CHENG, SOPRANO
Currently Xiaomin Cheng is studying at the Vocal & Opera Faculty of the Royal College of Music. She studied with mezzo-soprano Patricia Bardon and was awarded the Helen Marjorie Tonks Scholar to complete her Masters. During her studies, she participated in masterclasses with Amanda Roocroft and Pauliina Tukiainen.Xiaomin sang the roles of Marie in 'Zar und Zimmerman' and Fortuna in 'L'incoronazione di Poppea'. In July of 2024, Xiaomin was invited as a soprano soloist by the 11th Huang-He International Music Festival in China to perform with the Zhixing Symphony Orchestra at the Henan Provincial Arts Centre. In August 2024, she signed with Arcadian Opera Productions of London. She was cast as Xinyue in the opera ‘The Stone God’ from 1 to 3 November 2024 at the Bloomsbury Theatre, London. She performed the role of Barbarina in the opera ‘Le Nozze di Figaro’ in March 2025 at the Royal College of Music.
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MARIANA FERNANDES, SOPRANO
Mariana Fernandes is a talented young soprano from Almada, Portugal, currently studying at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama under Marilyn Rees. Recognized for her exceptional voice, she won the 2024 Susan Longfield Award and Worshipful Company of Chartered Surveyors Vocal Prize and was a finalist in the 69th Kathleen Ferrier Awards.
Mariana debuted at OperaFest Lisboa as Jody in Jeremy Fisher and has been a finalist in several prestigious competitions. Recent opera scene roles include La Bohème, Carmen, Don Giovanni, and Arabella. In 2024, she earned acclaim for her portrayal of Rosalinde in Guildhall’s Die Fledermaus, with London Unattached praising her “stunning power” and Opera Today commending her “multi-faceted quality of characterisation.”
Other engagements include Aunt Norris in Dove’s Mansfield Park at Guildhall and joining the Glyndebourne Chorus for the 2025 Festival.
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EVE PEARSON MAXWELL, SOPRANO
Scottish soprano Eve Pearson Maxwell studied her undergraduate at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and is now studying her Postgraduate at the Royal College of Music with Amanda Roocroft as a Leverhulme Scholar. While at the RCS Eve participated and placed in several competitions, her most recent, winning 2nd prize at the International Mozart Competition, Vienna.
She has performed with the RCS Choir as a soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria and as Second Witch/Dido cover in Dido & Aeneas.
Under Karen Cargill’s Associate Artist programme Eve performed Brahms Liebeslieder-Walzer at the Cumnock Tryst, The Stevenson Hall, and Drumlanrig Castle.
Eve has recorded backing vocals for the short film, Fire and Lace and performed First Swan Maiden for Retrospect Opera’s recording of Kennedy-Fraser’s The Seal Woman with the Scottish Opera orchestra.
Her recent engagements include joining the chorus of Mozart’s Idomeneo with the Alexander Gibson Opera School and Donna Anna in Clyde Opera’s production of Don Giovanni
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MAYA SAYAG, SOPRANO
Soprano Maya Sayag, born in Tel Aviv, is a First prize winner of several competitions, the national competition for excellent classical music students sponsored by the Ministry of Education and "Or-Tsair" competition. Maya's awards include scholarships from ABRSM, Ronen Foundation and the Israel America Cultural Foundation. Maya's solo performances include the soprano solo in Fauré Requiem, Vivaldi’s Gloria and Magnificat, Schubert’s G mass. Her operatic repertoire includes Gretel in Humperdinck “Hänsel und Gretel”, Sandrina in Mozart’s “la finta Giardiniera”, Papagena in Mozart’s “Die Zauberflöte”, la Princesse from Ravel “l’enfant et les sortilèges”, "Baaz" and "Moxo" in "When he was good" premiere at 2019, “Zasha” in an opera premiere by the Israeli composer Shlomi Frig in Venice 2019. Maya was recognized by the IDF as an “Outstanding Musician", and is now a scholarship MA student in the Royal academy of music in London. Between 2011-2018 she was a soloist of the "Bat-Kol" choir conducted by Anat Morag.
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ISABELLA DAWSON, MEZZO-SOPRANO
Originally from Birmingham, Mezzo-soprano Isabella Dawson is currently studying at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and is in her third year of undergraduate studies, under the tutelage of John Evans. Before attending Guildhall, Isabella studied at Wells Cathedral School as a vocal scholar on the music and dance scheme and was a member of Ex Cathedra junior choir while attending Junior Birmingham Royal Conservatoire.
Previous engagements include the role of Orfeo Orfeo ed Euridice ( Wells Cathedral School), chorus Dead Man Walking ( Guildhall School Of Music and Drama), Brahms symphony (Lichfield Cathedral), The Nutcracker chorus (Birmingham Royal Ballet), various masterclasses and the role of Oberon Midsummers Nights Dream and Fairy Queen (Guildhall School of Music and Drama).
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ROZA HERWIG, MEZZO-SOPRANO
The versatile Dutch mezzo-soprano Roza Herwig is celebrated for her warm voice, stage presence and artistry. Roza finished her vocal studies with distinction in the Artist Masters at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London and continued in the Artist Diploma.
In addition to singing as a soloist with, a.o. the Bauhaus Band and the NKO, with whom she made her debut in the Concertgebouw, Roza often gives theatrical recitals. She has performed in the Barbican, Muziekgebouw, Tête a Tête Festival and on BBC Radio 3.
Roza sang the leading role in a production of Schönberg’s Pierrot Lunaire in Munich and portrayed the role of Cherubino in Le Nozze at NLC in London. In 2024-2025 Roza performs the role of Penelope in the new opera ‘Penelope’s Web’, Anna in ‘BLUEBEARD’ with Holland Opera and Alexis in ‘Tulipatan’ by Offenbach. This talented performer has won prizes in several competitions.
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ANASTASIA KOORN, MEZZO-SOPRANO
American mezzo-soprano, Anastasia Koorn, is currently studying at the Royal College of Music’s International Opera Studio as an Andrea Bocelli Foundation - Community Jameel Scholar supported by the H F Music Award, under the tutelage of Professor Tim Evans-Jones. Anastasia’s notable performances with RCM include Concepción (L’heure espagnol), Maman / La Tasse Chinoise / La Libellule (L’enfant et les sortilèges), and Praskowia (Die lustige Witwe). Alongside RCM she debuted Hänsel with Miami Music Festival in 2023. Anastasia was featured as a soloist in recital with the Andrea Bocelli Foundation as part of the Macerata Opera Festival in August 2024. Other engagements include the role of Cherubino in RCM’s Le Nozze di Figaro in March 2025.
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EDVARD ADDE, TENOR
Edvard Adde is a 26 year old tenor from Norway who just finished his bachelor of music at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and has just begun his masters at the Royal College of Music in London. This summer he covered the role of Ernesto in Don Pasquale by Donizetti for Scherzo Ensemble at Longhope Opera. Before moving to Scotland he worked as a freelance musician as soloist in oratorial works and doing corporate events, weddings, funerals both as a classical singer and as a guitarist and lead vocalist in a trio he started focusing on folk and pop music as well as works by Schubert arranged for guitar, bass and piano. In 2021 he was awarded second place in the junior Kathleen Ferrier competition. The same year he made his operatic debut as Rinuccio in the opera Gianni Schicchi by Puccini for Opera Rogaland in Norway. In 2022 he reprised the role in Palermo, Italy. In March of 2025 Edvard played the role of Don Curzio in the Royal College of musics production of Le Nozze di Figaro by Mozart.
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THOMAS LIDGLEY, TENOR
Thomas Lidgley is a young British tenor who is currently a Master’s student at the Royal Academy of Music, studying under Adrian Thompson at both the Royal Academy and Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he completed his BMus (Hons) degree. Tom’s operatic experience include Rodolfo in Puccini’s La Boheme (Aquariun Opera Company), Mayor Upfold in Britten’s Albert Herring (Guildhall School), Chorus and Cover Robert Shallow in Vaughan Williams’ Sir John in Love (British Youth Opera) and various opera scenes including Floyd’s Susannah (as Sam Polk), Korngold’s Die Tote Stadt (as Victorin) and Mozart’s Idomeneo (as Idomeneo). Tom has also performed as the tenor soloist in Mendelssohn’s Elijah, in a production he organised himself. When not singing, Tom works on a afamily farm, selling produce and looking after livestock and also enjoys Ballroom and Latine dancing, in which he has competed at national level.
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JUSTIN SORIANO, TENOR
At the age of 17, Justin Soriano performed his first Messiah as a soloist with the Downside School orchestra. His other soloist highlights include: Bach’s John Passion (St Martin’s Chamber Orchestra and St Paul’s Knightsbridge Festival Orchestra); Saint-Saens’ Christmas Oratorio and Vaughan Williams Serenade to Music (Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields); and Mozart’s Requiem (Chelmsford Cathedral). Justin is engaged regularly with many professional choirs in London such as: London Voices, Westminster Cathedral, Temple Church and others. He studies with Richard Berkeley-Steele and Iain Ledingham. In RAM opera scenes, Justin has performed: Arturo from Lucia di Lammermoor; Antonin in Ciboulette; Alfred in Die Fledermaus and Count Belfiore in La Finta Giardiniera.
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MAXIMILLIAN CATALANO, BARITONE
Maximillian Catalano is a British/Italian Baritone currently studying toward a Master's degree at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama under the tutelage of David Pollard.
Having completed his undergraduate degree in International Relations and Politics at Cardiff University, Maximilian decided to pursue a career in classical singing and opera. In the time since he has made his operatic debute as Schaunard in Aylesbury Opera's production of La Bohème and has completed a Graduate Certificate year at the Guildhall. Maximilian has performed in recitals organised by Iain Burnside and Dylan Perez, taking great interest in exploring English song repertoire. He also had the great honour of debuting Haydn's "The Creation" in India as a soloist. This was performed with the Madras Guild of Performing Arts and the Gustav Mahler Symphony Orchestra of Colombo.
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ANTON KIRCHHOFF, BARITONE
Lyric baritone Anton Kirchhoff commenced his musical journey in his hometown of Cologne at the age of six, starting with the violin. Three years later, he embraced the piano as his secondary instrument and, not long afterward, received his first singing lesson. In parallel with his violin and piano studies, he established himself as a boy soprano, discovering in the process a deep love of singing. One of the pivotal moments that deeply influenced his passion for opera was his role as Miles in Benjamin Britten's The Turn of the Screw at the Cologne Opera. This experience left an indelible mark on his artistic development, fuelling his desire to explore the operatic world further.
A significant part of Anton’s musical work centres around Art Song. His passion for German Lied, in particular, was profoundly shaped by his mentorships with Benjamin Appl, Christoph Prégardien and Robert Holl. In November 2020, he embarked on a collaborative venture with pianist Jou-an Chen. Together, they have performed on stages in Germany, France, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Most recently, they were featured as Young Artists at the Leeds Lieder festival. In the summer of 2023, Anton completed his Bachelor's degree in Vocal Performance with top honours under the guidance of Thomas Laske at the Robert-Schumann-Hochschule in Düsseldorf. He is studying on the MA programme at the Royal Academy of Music in London, under Susan Waters and Joseph Middleton.
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ALEX RIDDELL, BARITONE
Alex Riddell is a young baritone from London. Having started singing in his teen years with Toby Stafford-Allen, Alex has since performed with Gothic Opera in a production of 'Rip Van Winkle', sang the Messiah at the Royal Albert Hall in the Proms, and most recently is covering the role of Herisson in the Royal Northern College of Music's production of L'Etoile.
Alex is studying for his Master's at the RNCM, under the tutelage of Mark Wildman, and is graciously supported by the Waverly Fund.
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BRITISH OPERA ACADEMY FACULTY, PROFESSIONAL MENTOR
ALISTAIR SUTHERLAND, BASS-BARITONE
A graduate from The Royal Academy of Music, Alistair Sutherland has enjoyed regularly working with The Music Mind Spirit Trust recently performing in The Best of Broadway at The Cranleigh Arts Centre. He was selected as a 2012 young artist with Opera Holland Park and continues to work with OHP as a chorister and comprimario performing roles such as Pinellino (Gianni Schicchi) or Crébillion (La rondine). He has worked with a number of smaller touring companies, creating roles for OperaUpClose such as Schaunard in their Olivier Award winning La bohème, Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) and Dulcamara (L’elisir d’amore) in critically acclaimed productions. Other roles include Silvio (Pagliacci), Smirnov (The Bear), Michele (Il Tabarro), Scarpia (Tosca) and Bluebeard (Bluebeard’s Castle). He regularly performs at fringe venues in London including The Arcola Theatre and The King’s Head Theatre, and he has toured to a number of venues across the UK including St David’s Hall, The Severn Theatre and The Belgrade Theatre As a chorister Alistair has worked for many companies including The Philharmonia Chorus and Opera Rara, performing in venues including The Royal Festival Hall and Cadogan Hall. He has worked with a number of conductors including Vladimir Yurowski and Sir Mark Elder. Alistair really enjoys leading community music workshops and performing for a number of care-home groups, leading dementia aware songgroups, and leads a folk- music ensemble in South London.
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CRAIG J WHITE, PIANO
Craig White is a versatile and highly acclaimed chamber musician and accompanist for both singers and instrumentalists. Educated at St Catherine’s College, Oxford, he completed a Postgraduate Diploma at the Royal Academy of Music in London under the tutelage of Michael Dussek and Diana Ketler. Craig has been Fellow in Piano Accompaniment at the Royal College of Music and currently works with the string department at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. His performing career began with a debut at Wigmore Hall alongside oboist James Turnbull in October 2010, followed by regular appearances at major London concert venues and international tours in South Korea and Japan. He has collaborated with renowned artists including Dame Kiri te Kanawa and Waltraud Meier at the Aix-en-Provence Académie, and worked as an official accompanist at prestigious institutions such as the Schiermonnikoog masterclasses (Holland), Rencontres Musicales Internationales D'Enghien (Belgium), and Kronberg Akademie (Germany). In 2017, he adjudicated the Con Brio Piano Competition in Mumbai, India.
Craig’s artistry has been recognised through numerous honours, including the accompanist prize at the Centenary Kathleen Ferrier Awards in 2012, and top accompanist prizes at the Thelma King Awards, Great Elm Vocal Awards, and the AESS Finals. He was named an “Associate of the Royal Academy of Music” in 2014, and that same year made his conducting debut with London Youth Opera's production of The Magic Flute. Craig has also toured the UK with Russian violinist Adelia Myslov and performed with soprano Eleanor Dennis for the BBC programme "The Joy of Mozart." His 2018 performance on BBC Radio 3 included a live soundtrack of Daniel Elms’ ‘Bethia’ for the Hull New Music Biennial. As a member of the “Philomel Project,” he brings eclectic concerts to the Crick Institute in London. Craig is also active as an arranger.
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TADASHI IMAI, PIANO
The pianist Tadashi Imai combines a career as concert soloist, chamber musician and sought-after accompanist. He studied at the Toho Gakuen College of Music in Tokyo with Hiroshi Tajika, Hidemitsu Hayashi and Shuku Iwasaki, as a scholar at Texas Christian University with Tamas Ungar and at the Royal Academy of Music with Christopher Elton, Michael Dussek and Clifford Benson. He has won several international competitions and performed throughout Europe, the United States and Asia, in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Suntory Hall and Wigmore Hall. Concerto performances have included appearances with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra in Texas, the Osaka Symphoniker and the State of Sibiu Philharmonic in Romania.
Tadashi Imai was a Junior Fellow at the Royal Academy of Music for four years and was appointed an ARAM in 2008. He has been accompanist for Gyorgy Pauk’s violin class at the Royal Academy of Music for several years as well as official accompanist for many international competitions and master-class series, notably the Menuhin International Violin Competition, the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition and the London Masterclasses. Leading string players with whom he has collaborated in recital include Maurice Hasson and the late Lydia Mordkovitch. He is a staff pianist at the Junior Academy, Royal Academy of Music.
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BRITISH OPERA ADADEMY FACULTY
ALLAN GLASSMAN, TENOR
Tenor Allan Glassman has thrilled audiences throughout America and Europe for decades with his vibrant timbre and committed interpretations of roles. Critics exclaim “his very presence on stage made those around him sound better.” From the Metropolitan Opera to vibrant stages including Opera San Antonio and L’Opéra de Nice and beyond, Allan Glassman’s voice has echoed in many of the world’s most esteemed venues. His artistry has graced major festivals such as the Ravinia Festival, where his portrayal of Herod in Salome under Maestro James Conlon left a profound impression. Internationally, he has captivated audiences at Deutsche Oper Berlin with his stirring Manrico in Il Trovatore and brought emotional depth to performances of Samson et Dalila at the New Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv and the Prince in Rusalka at Oper Frankfurt and in the Czech Republic.
Notable for his versatility, Glassman’s repertoire spans from the dramatic heights of Otello to contemporary milestones like Sacco and Vanzetti. His engagements with companies such as San Diego Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Florida Grand Opera, among many others, have showcased his ability to inhabit iconic roles with conviction. In concert, appearances with orchestras including the Münchner Philharmoniker and Boston Concert Opera further illustrate his command of works ranging from Mascagni’s Iris to Boito’s Mephistofele.
Beyond the stage, Glassman is celebrated for his commitment to the advancement of opera as an art form. He has participated in numerous world premieres, collaborated with esteemed conductors and directors, and contributed to educational initiatives that inspire the next generation of vocal artists. His lessons, masterclasses and residencies are sought after for their insight, rigour and encouragement, reflecting a dedication not only to performance but also to mentorship. The British Opera Academy is proud to have Allan Glassman as a vital core member of the BOA Faculty.
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RONALD ULEN, BARITONE
American baritone Ronald Ulen has enjoyed a distinguished career gracing opera stages worldwide. He made his professional debut as Guglielmo in Mozart's "Così fan tutte" with the National Opera Company, leading to performances across the United States in roles such as Malatesta in "Don Pasquale," Figaro in "Il Barbiere di Siviglia," and Mr. Ford in "The Merry Wives of Windsor." His European debut came with "Il Trovatore" at the Opera House in Zürich, Switzerland. As a resident leading artist in Coburg, Germany, he sang title roles in works like Verdi's "Falstaff," Tchaikovsky’s "Eugene Onegin," and Bartók's "Bluebeard's Castle."
Ulen further established his reputation as the resident leading baritone at the Staatstheater in Schwerin, Staatstheater in Mainz, and the Opera House of Augsburg. Over his prolific career, Ulen has performed more than ninety roles in nearly 2,000 performances, appearing in major opera houses and concert halls in cities including Vienna, Rome, London, Hamburg, New York, Munich, Paris, Chicago, and Berlin.
“As Zar Peter the First, Ronald Ulen was a congenial authoritarian manifestation, gifted with a magnificent heroic baritone voice.” - Zar und Zimmermann - Bayreuth Kurier
Mr Ulen is Professor of Voice at Texas State University and continues to maintain an active performing career as a singer and director. He has conducted master classes at various Universities and Conservatories in Europe and the United States as well as being in demand as an adjudicator and jury member of various voice competitions, including the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Mr. Ulen's current and former students are represented on the rosters of numerous European and American opera houses. Ron Ulen is an inspirational mentor, performer, teacher and Faculty member for the British Opera Academy singers.
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MARK ROSS CLARK, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, BRITISH OPERA ACADEMY; TRUSTEE, MUSIC MIND SPIRIT TRUST
Professor Emeritus Mark Ross Clark has recently moved to the UK, where he continues to present workshops at leading conservatoires and directs operas internationally, currently in Chicago and Italy. Author of several books including Singing, Acting, and Movement in Opera and Guide to the Aria Repertoire (Indiana University Press) and The Broadway Song (Oxford University Press), his second volume of Guide to the Aria Repertoire is being released by IU Press this Summer.
He is a well-known adjudicator of the Metropolitan Opera Auditions, with directing credits throughout the US and abroad, particularly in Italy, England, Mexico, Brazil and the Far East, as an award-winning director of well over 100 operas, operettas, musicals, and plays.
Dr Clark’s popular Singer-getics workshops bring together and “synergise” his vast background experience in the Arts, integrating essential principles as a singer, director and certified international Alexander Technique teacher.
Dr Clark began his career as a singer, studying with the legendary singer/actor/director Giorgio Tozzi. His versatile experience ranges from singing internationally as a soloist with the acclaimed Roger Wagner Chorale and for several major symphony orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic with Ethel Merman at the Hollywood Bowl, to singing background with the Carpenters for recordings and TV, and as a full-time contract singer with the Giessen Stadttheater for 3 years in Germany. He studied opera directing with Wesley Balk and earned his doctorate in Opera Production (Music and Theatre) at the University of Washington.
As Head of Opera at the renowned Indiana University for 10 years, where he directed over 50 operas, he taught and directed numerous students (including Jaimie Barton, Lawrence Brownlee, Kyle Ketelsen, Ailyn Perez, Kate Lindsey) who have sung at the Metropolitan Opera and other leading opera houses, as well as many graduates who are now leading their own opera programmes throughout the US, Canada, Mexico and Europe.
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DR CHIKA ROBERTSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BRITISH OPERA ACADEMY; CEO, MUSIC MIND SPIRIT TRUST
Dr Chika Robertson, CEO and co-founder of the Music Mind Spirit Trust, is a professor of violin at the Royal Academy of Music, JA and for many years international Diploma Examiner for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. She is much in demand as a music adjudicator, masterclass and workshop presenter, project director and conference speaker in the UK, USA and Europe.
Chika has premiered numerous seminal works for eminent musicians and recorded as both soloist and chamber musician with world-class ensembles including the London Sinfonietta & Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, performed in a piano trio with Tchaikovsky Competition winner Peter Donohoe, and in many diverse styles with artists such as Shirley Bassey and Ella Fitzgerald. Her violin pupils regularly achieve Distinctions in their violin diploma exams, festivals and competitions, and many are enjoying successful solo, chamber, orchestral and teaching positions internationally.
Chika is passionate about using innovative interdisciplinary methods to benefit music, science and medicine. Her work in health, wellbeing and recovery forges new career paths by training Young Artist Musical Ambassadors (YAMA) from the Royal Academy of Music to reinvigorate latent musicianship in care homes and other protected community settings. She and her husband are currently creating an exciting intergenerational music and health mentorship programme to benefit musicians, families and diverse communities.
For further info, please email:
Artistic Director: Dr. Mark Ross Clark drmarkrossclark@gmail.com
Executive Director: Dr Chika Robertson musicmindspirit@gmail.com britishoperaacademy@gmail.com