S
INGERS and brass players at the University of Huddersfield now have their studies supervised by one of the most exciting opera singers of her generation and by a trombonist who has played with leading orchestras and conducted at the Royal Albert Hall.
The new head of voice is Rachel Nicholls, a soprano who has performed and recorded a wide range of operatic and concert repertoire under conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle and Valery Gergiev.
The new head of brass is Richard Ward, who has played for West End shows as well as appeared with orchestras that include the Royal Philharmonic and the BBC Symphony. He has also recorded film soundtracks and directed the brass band in residence at the Royal College of Music, taking part in the National Championships at the Royal Albert Hall. In 2015, it gained the highest marks ever scored by a London-based band.
The deputy head of music and drama at the University of Huddersfield, Dr Lisa Colton, said the two new appointments will further bolster her department’s established reputation for the teaching of singing and brass playing.
She said: “We are looking forward to the opportunity to work with Richard and Rachel whose international profile as performers can help us to ensure that our music courses attract the very best singers and brass players nationally and from around the world.”
Rachel states that she is a “passionate advocate of music education” and combines it with a performing career that has earned her an acclaimed reputation in the works of composers that range from Monteverdi and Mozart to Bach and Beethoven.
As a dramatic soprano, she has also made her mark in the operas of Wagner, winning praise for her Brünnhilde in a complete Ring cycle for Longborough Festival Opera in 2013. Her recordings include major Bach works and she has also appeared as a guest soloist with Huddersfield Choral Society, when it performed Haydn’s Nelson Mass.
Richard is from Yorkshire and is a fourth-generation brass player. He studied at Birmingham Conservatoire and the Royal Academy of Music and has been a London-based trombone player for more than 20 years.
In addition to playing with major long-established orchestras he has also appeared with some of the leading new generation of ensembles including the Aurora, Heritage and Mahler Chamber Orchestras.
He has performed in over two dozen West End musicals and in addition to film and television soundtracks he has taken part in recording sessions for chart-topping pop and classical albums.
As an educator, Richard has worked with Trinity Laban Conservatoire and the Palestine Youth Orchestra and has been musical director of Zone One Brass, at the Royal College of Music in London.
He has also conducted professional ensembles, including the Philharmonia Orchestra.
The prize for Creativity went to another first time exhibitor Glen Williams for his mixed media picture Industrial Landscape (above).
There is one more prize to be awarded and the visiting public will decide the winner by voting for their favourite picture. The winner, who will receive two months exhibition space at S2R Create Space, will be announced at the end of the exhibition.
The gallery opening times are Monday to Wednesday and Friday to Saturday 11am to 4pm. Thursday 11am to 7pm.