SWAP'ra RETREAT APPLICATIONS
applicant information:
FIRST NAME:
FIRST NAME HIDDEN FOR 1ST ROUND
EMAIL:
EMAIL HIDDEN FOR 1ST ROUND
LAST NAME:
LAST NAME HIDDEN FOR 1ST ROUND
PHONE:
PHONE HIDDEN FOR 1ST ROUND
DATE OF BIRTH
Jun 25, 1994
NUMBER OF CHILDREN AND THEIR AGES:
Reggie (3), Stanley (1)
ARTISTIC TRAINING AND ACHIEVEMENTS PRIOR TO BIRTH OF FIRST CHILD:
Undergraduate at the RAM, Postgraduate at the RCM. Regular chorus member and soloist with Garsington Opera, Cover Barbarina (Le Nozze di Figaro) ENO, 2 times guest with the Jette Parker Young Artist programme, soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra, winner of the Emmy Destinn Czech prize, Patricia Routledge English song prize, Hurn Court Opera competition, Song prize winner in the Kathleen Ferrier Competition. Iris, Semele (Shanghai Symphony Orchestra with Christine Rice and Jane Archibald).
WHY DO YOU WANT TO TAKE PART IN THE SWAP'RA RETREAT?
Thank you for taking the time to read my application. Since having my second boy (1.5 years old) I have been battling with at times feeling lost. When singing is the most important thing to you in the world from the age of 5, it’s heart breaking and very unsettling when you have no choice but to take time away from it to raise two tiny children. Singing was my first love, and for a long time I refused to accept that life had changed.
I have turned a corner over the past two months. I have started a local choir which has brought me so much joy and confidence. My diary next year is gradually getting busier which is exciting. I am in a strong place vocally and I have a wonderful singing teacher to whom I’m very grateful. But I’m desperate to hear from mothers and parents who are making this career work for their family. I need some inspiration and some guidance and I imagine it would be very comforting to hear from other women who may have felt similar to me at times.
I think this retreat would really help me move forward with my career. I would benefit hugely from some industry professional feedback and I would love some constructive criticism. I’m very excited about the opportunity to make new recordings in some great spaces and I’m an open book when it comes to professional and personal advice. I’m ready to throw myself into the industry once again.
I think what your charity offers women and parents is sensational. I’m sure a lot of blood, sweat and tears has gone into creating Swap’ra and I would love to be a part of that community.
DESCRIBE YOUR PRESENT LIFE AS AN ARTIST AND PLANS FOR THE FUTURE:
At the moment I only have concert work in my diary. Over the summer of 2024 I sang in the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra’s summer prom as a soloist, I made my debut with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra as a soloist in June and I sang Strauss’s four last songs with the Watford Philharmonic Society in April. I am singing with the BSO again in February. Apart from that I am teaching a little and doing concerts and recitals for small music festivals around the UK whilst I practice some new arias ready for auditions over the next 12 months. I am auditioning in November 2024 for the Volksoper in Vienna. I plan to audition for the ENO again soon and the WNO in 2025. I would like to enter three big international competitions and the Wigmore hall song competition in 2025.
DO YOU ENVISAGE BRINGING YOUR CHILDREN WITH YOU ON THE COURSE?
No, I would rather not
REFEREE information:
REFEREE 1 NAME:
Mary Plazas
REFEREE 1 EMAIL:
REFEREE 1 RELATIONSHIP:
Singing teacher
REFEREE 1 RESPONSE:
Position / Role Held:
OPERA SINGER/ PROFESSOR OF VOICE at RNCM
Length of time you have known applicant:
5years
In what capacity have you worked with the applicant and when?
I have known a taught xxxx over a 5 year period.. with breaks in between when starting a family.
Would you recommend the applicant for the SWAP’ra Retreat? Please describe the applicant’s ability and potential to build a successful career in opera/classical singing:
xxxx is a most delightful young woman of great integrity , intuitiveness, wholly conscientious and always extremely well prepared. A wonderful musician, xxxx engages whole heartedly and touchingly in her music making and the dramatic context. She is curious, thoughtful and extremely bright. Entirely responsible and professional in all she does...as well as a generous team player. She bravely juggles family life with her singing commitments and preparation. Seeking out and curating work when she can. xxxx is a most talented young artist. Her beautiful soprano is now growing as she gently explores the more lyric repertoire. Well matched top to bottom, agile and expressive her voice has a warm clean timbre with much heart at its core.
Any other comments:
I highly recommended xxxx to you for consideration with this most important course/project. It would be the much needed boost she needs at this time with her young family now growing and time for her to step back into the profession.
REFEREE 2 NAME:
Peter Harrison
REFEREE 2 EMAIL:
REFEREE 2 RELATIONSHIP:
Conductor I have recently worked with
REFEREE 2 RESPONSE:
Position / Role Held:
Regular guest conductor with the RPO, BSO, BBC NOW, Ulster Orchestra, Philharmonia Principal Conductor with the Klassik Radio Pops Orchestra (Germany)
Length of time you have known applicant:
Over 20 years
In what capacity have you worked with the applicant and when?
xxxx has been my Soprano soloist for 2 years with the RPCO in Battersea Park in Concert as well as in Carmina Burana with the BSO
Would you recommend the applicant for the SWAP’ra Retreat? Please describe the applicant’s ability and potential to build a successful career in opera/classical singing:
Yes. I have had the great pleasure of knowing xxxx since her days at the Royal Academy of Music Junior Department. She played flute in the Symphony Orchestra and was always the most dependable person who I could rely on to help lead the wind section, as well as being a fantastic player. I have gently followed her career with great interest since leaving the Junior Academy. Having heard her sing, it was a delight for me to invite her to join the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra to perform in the inaugural Battersea Park Proms last summer. As always, she was super organised and prepared for the day, turning up in good time and absolutely wowed the audience with her effortless and wonderful voice. She is everything anyone would want in an Opera Company.
Any other comments:
I have no hesitation in fully recommending xxxx to you and the SWAP'ra Retreat. She is a star!!