I am a soprano, specialising in the gnarly edges of contemporary classical music. Though based in London, the majority of my work happens in mainland Europe, whizzing between the many international festivals that celebrate new music. Most of what I sing is brand-new — much of it written especially for me — but I began my career singing early music and I still keep that in that mix. I am happiest singing music written before 1759 and after 1958. As a writer and speaker, I offer a performer's perspective on topics such as collaboration, recording new works, not being a muse and failure. I am artistic director of eavesdropping, a platform for experimental musics based in East London, co-director of all that dust, a little independent label for new music, and director of VOICEBOX, a brand-new programme for contemporary vocal performance. I was recently awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Southampton.
The 2024-25 season includes performances at Bludenzer Tage, Donaueschinger Musiktage, TRANSIT in Leuven, Rainy Days in Luxembourg, Archipel in Geneva and Aldeburgh Festival. Premieres include new works written for me by Carola Bauckholt and Kristine Tjøgersen (with violinist Hannah Weirich) and Pascale Criton (for voice and electronics). Happily, Mark Knoop and I continue to tour one of our best-beloved pieces, Øyvind Torvund's Plans for Future Operas: look out for performances in Oldenburg and Stavanger. I was very happy to be invited to contribute an essay to the latest Sounds Now publication, on the topic of 'Engaging': their very beautiful booklet can now be read or ordered online. Though the pilot year of VOICEBOX has concluded (watch the beautiful little overview here), I will also be teaching at the Academy of Contemporary Music, co-hosted by Künstlerhaus Boswil and Hochschule der Künste Bern, at Darmstadt Summer Course 2025 and at the Académie Voix Nouvelles at Royaumont.