A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, London, Nicola has had a wide and varied operatic career throughout the UK and Europe.

In the UK Nicola has been a principal artist for the major opera houses. Her roles include the Countess, Le Nozze di Figaro (Bloomsbury Theatre, London); Michaela, Carmen (Clonter Opera); Gilda, Rigoletto, Fiordiligi, Cosi Fan Tutte, Pamina, Zauberflote and Blumenmadchen, Parsifal, all for Scottish Opera; Second Niece, Peter Grimes (Welsh National Opera). Other roles include Lucia Rape of Lucretia, Mary Warren The Crucible, Carolina Il Matrimonio Segretto, Emmy The Basement Room, Lauretta Gianni Schicchi, Mimi La Boheme and the title role in Anna Bella (an opera project by Hans Werne Henze), a role created for Nicola at the Montepulciano Opera Festival.

As a soloist, Nicola has sung oratorio throughout the world including the Messiah and The Creation at the Royal Albert Hall with Sir David Wilcocks and a programme of Beethoven and Wagner as guest artist with the orchestra of Opera De Lyon and Kent Nagano in Lyon, St Etienne and Geneva. She is in demand as a recitalist and has performed regularly at St Martin’s in the Field, The Queen Elizabeth Hall and The Purcell Room, London, as well as in the United States and Canada. Nicola also specialises as a performer of contemporary music, premiering many works by composers such as Elena Firsova, Stephen Albert and Roxanna Panufnik. She has appeared extensively with the BBC Singers, including a peace concert and radio broadcast in Zagreb.

Radio and television work has included numerous recitals for Classic FM, the BBC and Tele France as well as recordings of Carmina Burana (Orff), and Susannah (Floyd). Nicola is also a winner of the Royal Overseas League International singing competition.

Christopher Turner  - Tenor

Birmingham born tenor, Christopher Turner started his musical education at the University of Hull as a pianist, before pursuing opera studies at the RNCM with Barbara Robotham.

At just 25 years, Christopher has worked with many leading orchestras on the concert platform to include the London Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, members of the Age of Enlightenment, Goldberg Ensemble, Orchestra of Macau and the Hallé Orchestra.

Away from the concert platform, Christopher has enjoyed his debut with Scottish National Opera, where he has just recently finished a tour of Die Fledermaus, performing Dr Blind. Other roles include; Sellem in The Rake’s Progress (RNCM); Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola (RNCM) and The Inn Keeper in Pia De’ Tolomei (Opera Rara); Prunier in La Rondine (RNCM); Miguel Morales in Bandanna with NCCO and The School Master in The Cunning Little Vixen (RNCM).

On the Oratorio platform, Christopher has performed frequently throughout the UK, Europe and most recently the Far East. His work has enabled him to work on an extensive range of repertoire. Working recently with the Huddersfield Choral Society, he toured France with the Rachmaninov Vespers. He most recently broadcast at the St Magnus Festival in Orkney, under the baton of Martyn Brabbins in June 2006, performing the Mozart Requiem with the BBC Philharmonic. Work in the Far East has included the Bach Christmas Oratorio with the Orchestra of Macau and Christopher has recently been invited to sing with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra performing Haydn’s Creation under the baton of Philip Pickett.

The most recent recording that Christopher appeared on was Pia De’ Tolomei (Donizetti), with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of David Parry on the Opera Rara/Chandos Label.

Christopher has been the recipient of the many prizes these include: The Michael and Joyce Kennedy Prize for singing Strauss and The Frederic Cox Prize and the Elizabeth Harwood Prize. He most recently won a Countess of Munster 'Young Star' award, and he continues to be a Major Scholar of the Peter Moore's Foundation. He would like to thank both the foundations for their support.

Christopher is currently training at the National Opera Studio and learns singing with Barbara Robotham and Ryland Davies.

He will be singing the principle role of Bebbe with ENO in early Autumn 2008, and will join the ENO Young Singers’ Programme in November 2008.

Mark Rowlinson - Baritone

After a Choral Scholarship at Oxford, Mark Rowlinson spent the 1970s as a singer based in London and was at various times a member of the choirs of Brompton Oratory and Westminster Abbey. He made his debut at London's Royal Festival Hall as early as 1973, was a soloist with the CBSO, Hallé, and New Philharmonia Orchestras both in concert and on record, and gave a number of live BBC song recitals. Perhaps the high spot of his London career was to be chosen as the baritone soloist for the performance of Benjamin Britten's War Requiem given as the composer's London memorial concert. He also dines out in having sung in Duke Ellington's last concert in the UK, albeit in the backing group!

Mark spent the next 20 years as a Music Producer for the BBC based in Manchester, during which time he produced some 3,000 programmes and worked with a great many of the world's finest musicians. Yet he continued to sing during this time, giving recitals at Aldeburgh, the York Early Music Festival, in Milan, Amsterdam and The Hague, and occasionally on BBC Radio 3. He was honoured to be invited by the composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davies to take a role in his opera Resurrection which was performed as Davis's 60th birthday concert, with the BBC Philharmonic, conducted by the composer, and recorded for CD. A minor speaking part (five words!) in Hindemith's opera Sancta Susanna led to appearances with the BBC Philharmonic at the Bridgewater Hall, Barbican and at the Henry Wood Proms, as well as on CD.

During 2007 performances of Monteverdi’s Orfeo with the New London Consort took Mark to Israel, Mexico, Spain, Luxembourg, Poland and the Netherlands. Other highlights of the year included performances of Bach’s St John Passion at King’s College, Cambridge, Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius in York Minster, Verdi Requiem at Manchester University and the Bridgewater Hall, and Elgar’s Apostles at King’s College, Cambridge.

2008 sees performances of Purcell’s Indian Queen and Dido and Aeneas with the New London Consort, Bach’s St Matthew Passion at King’s College, Cambridge and Coventry Cathedrals, and Bach’s St John Passion at Manchester and Blackburn Cathedrals. Of particular interest is a performance of Mendelssohn’s Elijah in Birmingham Town Hall with the Birmingham Festival Choral Society, who gave the first performance of Elijah, conducted by Mendelssohn himself in this very building.