Adjudicators

Louise Winter mezzo soprano

Louise Winter was born in Preston, Lancashire, and studied at the Royal Northern College of Music.  She made her début in 1982 with Glyndebourne Touring Opera as Dorabella Così fan tutte and subsequently sang Tisbe La Cenerentola, Zerlina Don Giovanni, and Rosina Il barbiere di Siviglia for the company.  

In recent years roles have included Marcellina (Royal Opera House/Grange Festival), Governess Queen of Spades (Royal Opera House), Maya in Howard Moody’s Agreed and Gertrude in Brett Dean’s Hamlet (Glyndebourne), Madame Larina Eugene Onegin and Háta The Bartered Bride (Garsington Opera), Anaide in Leconcavallo’s Zazà (Opera Holland Park), Wife in Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Greek with Music Theatre Wales at the Linbury and on tour in the UK and Korea, Kabanicha Katya Kabanova (Longborough), Madame de la Haltière Cendrillon and Ragonde Le Comte Ory (Blackheath Concert Halls). In July 2021, she made her role debut as Mistress Quickly (Scottish Opera), and in 2023 she returned to the company to sing La Frugola Il Tabarro and Zita Gianni Schicchi in Sir David McVicar’s new production of Il Trittico.  She recently sang Mistress Quickly for Opera North.

She created the roles of Pilar in David Sawyer’s The Skating Rink (Garsington Opera), Susan in Huw Watkins In the Locked Room (a co-production between Music Theatre Wales and Scottish Opera), and gave the world premiere of Charlotte Bray’s Out of the Ruins for mezzo-soprano, youth chorus and orchestra at a Gala Concert for the Royal Opera House.  

Previously she has sung title role Carmen and Marguerite La Damnation de Faust (English National Opera), Olga Eugene Onegin (ROH/Canadian Opera Company/Glyndebourne), Sesto La clemenza di Tito, Edwige Rodelinda, Varvara Katya Kabanova, Pauline Queen of Spades (Glyndebourne), Brangäne Tristan und Isolde, Venus Tannhäuser and Lady Macbeth in Ernst Bloch’s Macbeth (Frankfurt), Preziosilla La Forza del Destino (Rouen).

Louise Winter has sung with many of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors including the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under Sir Simon Rattle, the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Sir Andrew Davis, the Hallé Orchestra under Mark Elder, the Philharmonia Orchestra under Sir Charles Mackerras, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Carlo Rizzi.  She has taken part in many BBC Proms concerts.  As a recitalist, she has appeared at the Wigmore Hall, St John's, Smith Square, the Théâtre du Châtelet, the Bath, Belfast, and City of London Festivals and at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw.

Her recordings include the complete songs of Frank Bridge for Hyperion, and Haydn Masses under Richard Hickox for Chaconne.  Performances on DVD include the Goddess Diana La Calisto conducted by René Jacobs. 

Louise Winter is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Ashburnham English Song Awards. 

Gillian Keith is a British-Canadian soprano and a past winner of both the prestigious Kathleen Ferrier Award and the ROSL Singing Prize, and a distinguished graduate of the Royal Academy of Music. She made her Royal Opera debut as Zerbinetta in Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos, and has sung with leading companies through the UK, Europe and North America. Celebrated roles include Poppea (L’Incoronazione di Poppea), Tytania (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Philine in Thomas’ Mignon, Ginevra in Handel’s Ariodante, The Woodbird (Siegfried), and Pretty Polly (Punch and Judy).  Her concert repertoire is wide and varied, and has taken her to some of the most prestigious stages around the world, including the BBC Proms, Boston Symphony Hall, Sydney Opera House, Edinburgh Festival and London’s Wigmore Hall, in diverse repertoire from Bach Cantatas to Oliver Knussen’s 2nd Symphony. Her recordings include the role of Zerbinetta, Dallapiccola Orchestral Songs, Bach Solo Cantatas, Handel’s Gloria, Nine German Arias, and Messiah, Mozart’s C Minor Mass, and recitals of Debussy, Strauss and Schubert. In 2000 she performed throughout John Eliot Gardiner’s Bach Cantata Pilgrimage and can be heard as a soloist on several of the landmark recordings for his label Soli Deo Gloria.  Known for her beauty of tone, intelligent musicianship, engaging recitals, and charismatic stagecraft, she has a large discography and exciting performance diary with recent highlights including Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Coraline with Royal Opera, Tom Randle’s Love Me To Death for Tête-á-Tête Festival, Haydn’s Creation in Southwark Cathedral, and Hansel & Gretel at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. 

More information at www.gilliankeithsoprano.com

Mark Le Brocq was a choral scholar at St. Catharine’s College, Cambridge where he read English. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music and the National Opera Studio. As an ENO Company Principal, roles included Tamino The Magic Flute; Paris King Priam; Narraboth Salome; Cassio Otello; Don Ottavio Don Giovanni.

Guest appearances include Mephistopheles Dr Faustus, The Jailer Il Prigioniero (Semperoper Dresden); Painter/ Client Lulu (WNO/Bolzano); Scrooge A Christmas Carol (WNO/Trento); Luka House of the Dead (WNO/Brno Festival); Loge Das Rheingold (Tianjin Symphony Orchestra); title role Biedermann und die Brandstifter, The Governor Simplicius Simplicissimus (Independent Opera); Siegmund Die Walkürie, Bob Boles Peter Grimes, Shapkin House of the dead (Opera North); Golitsyn Khovanschina, Aron Moses and Aron, Bassanio Merchant of Venice, Pierre War and Peace (WNO); Harry King Anthropocene, Chairman Mao Nixon in China (Scottish Opera); title role Idomeneo (Opera Northern Ireland); Siegfried Götterdämmerung (Grimeborn);The Major Figaro gets a Divorce (Magdeburg)

On the concert platform, performances include Sylvester The Silver Tassie, Howard Boucher Dead Man Walking, Beethoven 9 for Dubai Proms BBC Symphony Orchestra; The Fairy Queen, Dixit Dominus at the BBC Proms; Das Lied von der Erde Orquestra de Extremadura; The Dream of Gerontius RTE Dublin. B Minor Mass with the Israel Camerata;  St Matthew Passion Academy of Ancient Music; Beethoven Missa Solemnis Three Choirs’ Festival. Berlioz’s Grande Messe de Morts in St Paul’s Cathedral; Carmina Burana Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra; Messiah and Die Zauberflöte at the Lucerne Festival; La Resurrezione, The Creation, St Matthew Passion with Gabrieli Consort; Mozart’s Requiem with the English Concert in Salzburg/BBC Proms; Britten’s Serenade with Ballet Rambert; The Diary of One who Disappeared Nuremberg International Festival.

A champion of contemporary music, recent world premieres include “Between the storm clouds and the sea” Jack Oades/JAM on the Marsh; “The Riot Act” David Fennessy/ RSNO and “Babel” Richard Blackford/Camden choir.

Future roles include Aschenbach Death in Venice (WNO) and Loge, Siegmund ( Longborough Festival Ring)

Elizabeth Muir-Lewis has a varied and long career in music.

After studying at the Royal College of Music and in Vienna, she sang as soloist in many European countries, and in the USA, where she sang with the Boston Opera, Washington Symphony, Chicago  Symphony, She began her career singing with the Glyndebourne opera company. 

Later she diverted into conducting, forming the Eastbourne Choral Society, which she directed for ten years, taking the choir on three European tours.

A well known teacher and coach, she also has published three books, one about her life with the great British tenor, Richard Lewis "When the Last Note Sounds"

Next year Elizabeth will conduct  Mozar'ts "Requiem" with the choir she founded, the Eastbourne Choral Society.