Kathleen Ferrier Award
Encyclopedia
The Kathleen Ferrier Award is a prestigious contest for Opera
singers held each April in London, England. The first competition was held in 1956. Originally conceived to offer a prize equivalent to a year's tuition plus support, the competition now offers a first prize of £10,000, a second prize of £5,000 and a Song Prize of £2,500. There is also an MBF Accompanist’s prize, provided in 2005 by Arthur & Gwyneth Harrison. The competition is open to singers of any nationality who have completed at least one year of study at a UK conservatoire or with a recognised vocal coach in the UK. They must be under 29 years of age at the time of the final audition. Pianists competing for the accompanist’s award must also be under 29. The first recipient of the award was South-African soparano Joyce Barker
.
The Kathleen Ferrier Memorial Scholarship Fund, which funds the award, was founded in 1953 in memory of Kathleen Ferrier
following her untimely death from cancer at the age of 41. Ferrier had gained a large following despite having performed for only 12 years as a professional singer, and had a number of influential champions including conductors Sir John Barbirolli
, Bruno Walter
and Sir Malcolm Sargent
.
The initial appeal for a memorial fund was launched by Sir John Barbirolli
, Roy Henderson, Gerald Moore
, Sir Malcolm Sargent
and Hamish Hamilton
and seeded with proceeds from the book Kathleen Ferrier – a Memoir assembled by friends and colleagues.
Current Patrons are:
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
singers held each April in London, England. The first competition was held in 1956. Originally conceived to offer a prize equivalent to a year's tuition plus support, the competition now offers a first prize of £10,000, a second prize of £5,000 and a Song Prize of £2,500. There is also an MBF Accompanist’s prize, provided in 2005 by Arthur & Gwyneth Harrison. The competition is open to singers of any nationality who have completed at least one year of study at a UK conservatoire or with a recognised vocal coach in the UK. They must be under 29 years of age at the time of the final audition. Pianists competing for the accompanist’s award must also be under 29. The first recipient of the award was South-African soparano Joyce Barker
Joyce Barker
Joyce Barker was a South African soprano.Joyce Barker was born in Mooi Rivier, a small town in Natal. At the age of nineteen she started training for a professional career with Daisy Holmes in Durban. She won the Ernest Whitcutt Memorial Cup three years in succession and earned three different...
.
The Kathleen Ferrier Memorial Scholarship Fund, which funds the award, was founded in 1953 in memory of Kathleen Ferrier
Kathleen Ferrier
Kathleen Mary Ferrier CBE was an English contralto who achieved an international reputation as a stage, concert and recording artist, with a repertoire extending from folksong and popular ballads to the classical works of Bach, Brahms, Mahler and Elgar...
following her untimely death from cancer at the age of 41. Ferrier had gained a large following despite having performed for only 12 years as a professional singer, and had a number of influential champions including conductors Sir John Barbirolli
John Barbirolli
Sir John Barbirolli, CH was an English conductor and cellist. Born in London, of Italian and French parentage, he grew up in a family of professional musicians. His father and grandfather were violinists...
, Bruno Walter
Bruno Walter
Bruno Walter was a German-born conductor. He is considered one of the best known conductors of the 20th century. Walter was born in Berlin, but is known to have lived in several countries between 1933 and 1939, before finally settling in the United States in 1939...
and Sir Malcolm Sargent
Malcolm Sargent
Sir Harold Malcolm Watts Sargent was an English conductor, organist and composer widely regarded as Britain's leading conductor of choral works...
.
The initial appeal for a memorial fund was launched by Sir John Barbirolli
John Barbirolli
Sir John Barbirolli, CH was an English conductor and cellist. Born in London, of Italian and French parentage, he grew up in a family of professional musicians. His father and grandfather were violinists...
, Roy Henderson, Gerald Moore
Gerald Moore
Gerald Moore CBE was an English pianist best known for his career as one of the most in-demand accompanists of his day, accompanying many of the world's most famous musicians...
, Sir Malcolm Sargent
Malcolm Sargent
Sir Harold Malcolm Watts Sargent was an English conductor, organist and composer widely regarded as Britain's leading conductor of choral works...
and Hamish Hamilton
Hamish Hamilton
Hamish Hamilton Limited was a British book publishing house, founded in 1931 eponymously by the half-Scot half-American Jamie Hamilton . Confusingly, Jamie Hamilton was often referred to as Hamish Hamilton...
and seeded with proceeds from the book Kathleen Ferrier – a Memoir assembled by friends and colleagues.
Current Patrons are:
- Sir Thomas Allen CBE
- Sheila Armstrong (singer)Sheila Armstrong (singer)Dr. Sheila Armstrong is an English soprano, equally noted for opera, oratorio, symphonic music and lieder.Educated at the Royal Academy of Music, she was co-winner of the Kathleen Ferrier Award in 1965, and as of 2011 was a trustee of the award fund.She was active in English opera and oratorio...
- Valerie Beale
- Vernon Ellis
- Catherine Goode
- Sir Nicholas Goodison
- Graham Johnson OBE
- Yvonne KennyYvonne KennyYvonne Kenny AM is an Australian soprano, particularly associated with Handel and Mozart roles.Born in Sydney, she first studied at the University of Sydney in science, hoping to become a biochemist, but decided to pursue a career in music instead...
AM - Joan Rodgers CBE
- John Shirley-QuirkJohn Shirley-QuirkJohn Shirley-Quirk CBE is an English bass-baritone.He was born in Liverpool, England, and sang in his high school choir. He played the violin and was awarded a scholarship. While studying chemistry and physics at Liverpool University, he studied voice with Austen Carnegie...
CBE - Paul StrangPaul StrangPaul Andrew Strang is a Zimbabwean cricket coach and former international player. A leg-spinning all-rounder, he played in 24 Tests and 95 ODIs for Zimbabwe between 1994 and 2001...
(Chairman) - Martin B. M. Williams