Soloists
Stephen Connolly
For many years, Stephen Connolly sang Bass and co-directed the internationally acclaimed vocal ensemble, The King's Singers. Serving the group from 1987 – 2010, he has the distinction of being one of the longest serving members in the vocal group's history.
Stephen grew up in Leeds, developing a love of singing as a chorister in the choir of Leeds Parish Church under Simon Lindley, and at Lawnswood School where he was a direct contemporary of Thom Meredith. In 1984, he was awarded a scholarship to London's Guildhall School of Music where he studied singing with Rudolf Piernay until, at the age of 21, he joined The King's Singers.
residencies abroad, more recently Stephen has appeared as guest director with the National Youth Choir of Great Britain and the Academy of the Schleswig Holstein Festival and has enjoyed adjudicating for the BBC’s “Choir of the Year” competition and for S4C Wales as part of the panel searching for the top Welsh choirs in “Cor Cymru 2011.”
He was recently appointed to the position of Head of Vocal Studies at Cheltenham Ladies’ College and now lives in Gloucester with his wife Rachel, relishing the beauty and tranquillity of the beautiful Gloucestershire countryside after nearly a quarter of a century of frenetic, international travels.
As well as having performed in excess of 120 concerts each year for almost a quarter of a century, he has made frequent appearances in both broadcasts for television and radio around the world and recorded extensively with EMI , BMG Records, Signum Records and Sony, collecting many awards - including three Grammy nominations and a Grammy. In 2008, he founded the “International A Cappella School” which offers a series of international residential choral courses for young singers.
As well as devoting much time to master classes and
Sarah Ogden
Sarah Ogden is currently undertaking postgraduate studies at the Royal Northern College of Music under the tutelage of Stuart MacIntyre. Since joining the College she has won the 2010 Bessie Cronshaw Song Cycle Competition and was a finalist in the 2011 Michael and Joyce Kennedy Strauss Prize, after which she was invited to give a recital to the Strauss Society. She has been awarded the Dame Eva Turner scholarship and was also selected as a finalist for the prestigious 2011 Patricia Routledge National English Song Competition.
Sarah has been selected to perform in Master Classes with Elly Ameling, Dame Felicity Palmer, Roger Vignoles, Anna Larsson and Julius Drake and was awarded a place on the distinguished 2011 Oxford Lieder Master Course. Although still studying, Sarah is already making a name for herself in the singing profession and will make her Wigmore Hall debut in April 2012 singing Trois poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé (Debussy) and The Island (Matthews).
As a soloist her highlights include; Dorabella Cosi fan tutte and The Countess The Marriage of Figaro (Mozart), Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Mahler) with orchestra and performances as a soloist in Ripon and Wakefield Cathedrals, York Minster, Symphony Hall, Birmingham and Huddersfield Town Hall where Sarah has shared the stage with the world renowned Black Dyke Brass Band and Julian Lloyd Webber.
Sarah regularly gives recitals and has sung many roles in choral works including; Mozart Mass in C Minor & Requiem, Brahms Requiem, Dvorak Stabat Mater, Rossini Petite Messe Sollenelle and Handel Messiah.
She has had many successes in competitions, including being awarded the title of Kirklees Young Musician 2006. As well as studying at the RNCM, Sarah is also the Musical Director of Hade Edge Community Choir and Denby Dale Ladies Choir.
Thomas Asher
Thomas initially began studying piano and theory with Betty Beale MBE in Rotherham and his interest in singing developed whilst in the sixth form where he studied with Elizabeth Hampshire and Vivien Pike. He read Music and Theology at St. John’s College, Durham where he received tuition from Miranda Wright and Lynne Dawson. Upon graduation, he began studies with Patrick Mcguigan whilst working for the South Yorkshire Education Business Partnership. Since September 2009 Thomas has been studying with Thomas Schulze at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) where he is completing an MMus. In 2010 he was awarded the John Cameron Prize for Lieder and sang for Dame Janet Baker as a finalist in the Joyce and Michael Kennedy Prize for the Singing of Strauss.
e i Montecchi (Lorenzo), Falstaff (Ford), La Traviata (Germont), Le Nozze di Figaro (Il Conte) and Ariadne auf Naxos (Musiklehrer).
Operatic roles to date include Le fauteuil in Ravel’s L’Enfant et les Sortileges; Aeneas in Purcel’s Dido and Aeneas; Strephon, Reginald Bunthorne and Koko in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe, Patience and The Mikado respectively and he created the role of Billy Swallow in Martyn Harry’s Big Hungry Animal. At the RNCM, he performed the role of Philocome in Offenbach’s La Belle Helene and Le Dancaire in Bizet’s Carmen. Operatic excerpts include Cosi fan tutte (Don Alfonso), I Capuleti
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