Gloria! - 29th March 2025
Vivaldi Gloria, Bach Vergnugte Ruh, Vaughan Williams Benedicite, Dyson Hierusalem.
Music Director: Richard Laing. Bach Camerata, Leader: Shulah Oliver-Smith. Organist: Simon Hogan.
7:30pm.
St James the Greater
London Road
Leicester
LE2 1NE
Introducing our soloists... Phoebe Curcher
Phoebe Curcher is a soprano from Reading, currently in her third year of study at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. She is passionate about oratorio, earning her a space as soprano scholar with the Josephine Baker Trust Scheme in 2024.
Phoebe’s recent performances include Volpino in Haydn’s Lo Speziale as a part of RBC’s 2024 Opera scenes, soloist in Handel’s Dixit Dominus with the RBC Chamber Choir, Mercédès in Bizet’s Carmen and Orfeo in Gluck’s Orphée ed Eurydice as a part of student-led opera scenes, and Galatea in excerpts of Acis and Galatea in ‘Ravishing Delights – Handel’s arrival in England’, a VoxBox concert at the conservatoire.
Music has always been a large part of Phoebe’s life; she credits singing in choirs during her teenage years as the main catalyst in her desire to pursue music as a career. She enjoys singing a range of repertoire from opera and oratorio to art song and early music and is currently studying with Louise Crane. When Phoebe is not singing she enjoys cooking, visiting old houses and going on hikes.
Introducing our soloists... Noémie Johns
Franco-British mezzo-soprano Noémie Johns is a Josephine Baker Trust Scholarship holder. She began singing during her studies at the University of Cambridge where she was awarded the Lucy Cavendish College prize for her contribution to the arts. Recent operatic engagements include Carmen (title role, Bizet) at the Festival Lyrique d’Excideuil in France, Mercédès (Carmen, Bizet) with Arcadian Opera, Cendrillon (title role, Massenet) at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro) with Wedmore Opera. In 2023 she was selected to go on a tour of Mozart’s Così fan tutte (Dorabella) with the North Wales Opera Studio. She also frequents the concert and recital platform regularly with oratorio and mélodie across the UK and France. She is currently studying for an Advanced Postgraduate Diploma with her teacher Yvonne Sandison.
Introducing our soloists... Hannah Devereux
Hannah Devereux is a 21 year old soprano from Wexford, Ireland, currently studying at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, under the tutelage of Jonathan Gunthorpe.
Since joining in 2022, Hannah has been given the opportunity to explore several operatic roles within the conservatoire, including Valetto from Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea, Dorothee from Massenet’s Cendrillon, Bellangere from Dukas’ Ariane et Barbe-bleue and Nancy in Britten’s Albert Herring. In 2023, she played the role of Nonetta in the premiere of Dr. Andrew Synnott’s youth opera Seedlings in the National Opera house in Wexford.
Before joining conservatoire, Hannah found success in several competition classes at Feisceoil, like the Vocal Rosebowl which included a performance in the National Concert Hall in Dublin. In 2022, Hannah reached the finals of the Winifred Micklam Prize and in 2023, represented the conservatoire in the finals of the Junior Kathleen Ferrier competition.
Last summer, Hannah was awarded the Betty O’Brien bursary from Music for Wexford which included her first public solo recital. This year, Hannah worked with Mark Chambers as a part of Sestina’s mentoring program. She is supported by the Stephen Dodgson Charity and the Josephine Baker Trust.
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