Kathryn Rudge
Born in Liverpool, Kathryn completed her studies at the Royal Northern College of Music with Susan Roper on the International Artist Diploma scheme in 2011. During her studies Kathryn’s operatic roles included a critically acclaimed Carmen, Erika in Barber’s Vanessa, Annio (La Clemenza di Tito), Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro), Sorceress (Dido & Aeneas) and Olga (Eugene Onegin), the latter for Haddo House and the RNCM. She also covered the role of Helénè (La Belle Helénè) and sang excerpts from Handel’s Ariodante.

She was a BBC New Generation artist between 2015 and 2017 and between 2010 and 2013 was a YCAT artist (Young Classical Artists Trust). Featured as The Times Rising Star of Classical Music 2012, Kathryn made her debut to critical acclaim with English National Opera as Cherubino (The Marriage of Figaro) in a production directed by Fiona Shaw, and at Opera North as Sesto (Giulio Cesare). Her concert work has included recitals at Wigmore Hall, Bridgewater Hall, the Brighton, City of London Festivals, and Cheltenham Festival (Broadcast by BBC Radio 3), and a performance of Carmen as part of Charles Hazlewood’s 2012 Orchestra In a Field music festival at Glastonbury Abbey. She repeated the role of Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro) with Glyndebourne Touring Opera and in 2013 returned to Opera North in the roles of Annio (La Clemenza di Tito) and Hermia (A Midsummer Night’s Dream).

On the concert platform Kathryn has appeared as soloist on several occasions with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra working with conductors Vasily Petrenko, Carl Davis and John Wilson. She has sung Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Paul Daniel at the Royal Festival Hall, Mahler’s Das Knaben Wunderhorn at Bridgewater Hall, Mendelssohn’s St Paul with the Huddersfield Choral Society, Karl Jenkins The Armed Man with Manchester Camerata and Berio and Hesketh Songs with the RLPO Ensemble 10/10.

In summer 2014 Kathryn appeared with the RLPO in the premiere of Michael Nyman’s Hillsborough Memorial Symphony and she has recently recorded a CD of English song with pianist James Baillieu which was released by Champs Hill Records under the title ‘Love’s Old Sweet Song’.

Recent and future engagements include Dorabella (Cosi fan tutte) for Garsington Opera, Rosina (The Barber of Seville) for English National Opera, Nancy (Albert Herring) for the Buxton Festival, Zerlina (Don Giovanni) for Opera North as well as concerts with the BBC Philharmonic and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestras, Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, Bach Choir and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic as well as recitals at the Wigmore Hall, Oxford Lieder Festival, Glynde Place, Milton Court, Pembroke College and at the Chiltern Arts, Oxford Lieder, Ryedale and BBC Proms Festivals. Recordings include Leoncavallo’s Zaza and Bellini’s Adelson e Salvini for Opera Rara, Elgar Songs for Somm as well as many recordings for the BBC. Future plans include recordings of Coates and Hamilton Harty for Somm Recordings and Elgar’s Sea Pictures with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.

Christopher Glynn is a Grammy award-winning pianist and accompanist, working with leading singers, instrumentalists and ensembles in concerts, broadcasts and recordings throughout the world. He is also Artistic Director of the Ryedale Festival, programming around 60 events each year in the many beautiful and historic venues of Ryedale, North Yorkshire.

Described by The Times as having 'beauties and insights aplenty' and praised in Gramophone for his 'breathtaking sensitivity', Chris has performed with singers including Sir Thomas Allen, John Mark Ainsley, Benjamin Appl, Sophie Bevan, Claire Booth, Ian Bostridge, Susan Bullock, Allan Clayton, Sophie Daneman, Joshua Ellicott, Bernarda Fink, Michael George, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Christiane Karg, Jonas Kaufmann, Yvonne Kenny, Dame Felicity Lott, Christopher Maltman, Mark Padmore, Rowan Pierce, Joan Rodgers, Kate Royal, Kathryn Rudge, Toby Spence, Nicky Spence, Michael Spyres, Bryn Terfel, Sir John Tomlinson, Robin Tritschler, Ailish Tynan, Roderick Williams, Elizabeth Watts and many others.

He has also performed with instrumentalists including Julian Bliss, Andrej Bielow, Adrian Brendel, Michael Collins, Nicholas Daniel, David Garrett, Matthew Gee, Tine Thing Helseth, Daniel Hope and Steven Isserlis; with ensembles including the Elias, Heath, Albion and Szymanowski Quartets, London Winds, Britten Sinfonia and Scottish Chamber Orchestra; and with choirs including The Sixteen.

Chris was born in Leicester and read music an organ scholar at New College, Oxford, before studying piano with John Streets in France and Malcolm Martineau at the Royal Academy of Music. His many awards include the accompaniment prize in the 2001 Kathleen Ferrier competition, the 2003 Gerald Moore award and the 2002 Geoffrey Parsons award.

Since making his debut at Wigmore Hall in 2001, Chris has performed in major concert venues and festivals throughout Europe and North America, and toured to Japan, China, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Russia and Canada. He has made over 25 recordings on labels including Hyperion, Decca, Erato, DG, Coro and Signum, and is also often heard on BBC Radio 3.

An interest in bringing classical song to a wider audience recently led Chris to commission Jeremy Sams to create new English translations of Schubert's song cycles. The Fair Maid of the Mill, Winter Journey and Swansong have been performed widely and recorded for Signum Records. Next year, Roderick Williams and Chris will undertake a nationwide schools tour of Winter Journey. Chris teaches at the Royal Academy of Music and Royal College of Music. He is also a course leader for the Samling Foundation and has been an adjudicator for many international competitions.

Recent highlights include recording the piano soundtrack for the film 'Altamira' (starring Antonio Banderas), the world premiere of a newly-discovered work by Mendelssohn on BBC Radio 4, performances at the BBC Proms, a collaboration with the Richard Alston Dance Company, CDs exploring the 'serious' songs of Donald Swann and the folksong settings of Percy Grainger, and 'The Passion' project with Streetwise Opera.

Future plans include a series of concerts entitled 'Songbooks' that he will curate for Wigmore Hall, and a further collaboration with Jeremy Sams, to stage a new English version of Hugo Wolf's Italian Songbook.