MEET THE MEZZO-SOPRANO WHO’S ADDING A CLASSICAL TOUCH TO THIS YEAR’S TWELFTH CELEBRATIONS
Emma Brown has travelled all the way from Holland to sing at an Orange Order event tomorrow and at the Sham Fight in Scarva on Friday.
Karen Ireland hears why the visit is something of a homecoming
Like many other people around the globe, Emma Brown, who grew up in England and now lives in the Netherlands, has never been to a Twelfth demonstration before in her life. But that is about to change over the next couple of days.
This year the 32-year-old mezzo-soprano will be guest of honour at the field in Newcastle today before travelling across the country for the Sham Fight at Scarva on tomorrow.
They may be among the more unusual venues she has been asked to perform at but, as she reveals, she is very much looking forward to both events.
Originally from Nottingham, Emma was involved in the music and theatre scene during her school years. Aged 18, she auditioned for the Royal Academy of Music and was offered a full scholarship, but instead chose to study music at the University of Cambridge so that she could enjoy the music and theatre scene in the area.
Along the way she also fell in love with a Dutchman — and ended up falling in love with that country too. Now engaged to church verger Ronald Hartsuiker, she lives in Leiden but interestingly reveals she has rather close connections to Northern Ireland.
“My dad lived in Portstewart for some time and my stepbrother and sister were born there,” says Emma. Dad worked as a professor for Queen’s University so I spent a lot of time in Northern Ireland when I was growing up. I was always going back and forward for holidays.”
It turns out she is no stranger to the province when it comes to performing as well.
“I last visited Belfast when I was asked to sing as part of the Belfast Tattoo at the SSE Arena in 2016. I sang with the Band of Liberation.
“It was amazing — 10,000 people in the audience were singing along to the Wild Rover and singing it back to me.
“It was such a highlight for me and I felt really welcomed. And everyone I met in the pub afterwards was so friendly. I can’t wait to come back again this week.”
Emma was invited over to sing on the Twelfth by members of the 12th Castlewellan District Office.
She explains: “They heard me sing at the Ulster Tower in the Somme in 2017 to commemorate the 36th Ulster Division who suffered heavy losses in the Battle of the Somme. Afterwards the 12th Castlewellan District Office had a ceremony at the Orange Memorial and I offered to sing for their ceremony.
“It was deeply moving to know that so many people at the memorial were so closely linked to the soldiers of the First World War. I was absolutely delighted when they asked me to sing in Northern Ireland again.”
Emma freely admits that she knows little about the Twelfth commemorations other than that they celebrate the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 and are a celebration of the Orange and Black orders and unionism in North-
I started off singing at concerts and in opera before a conductor invited me to go to Normandy