MARY NELSON

CLASS OF 1990

Professor of Singing, The Royal Academy of Music

My days at BHS shaped my musical future in countless ways. As a young girl from Larne, the journey to school every day seemed quite daunting, but I soon settled into a comfortable routine of travelling by train to nearby Jordanstown. I had the most wonderful support from all my teachers, notably Billy Cairns, Eileen Staley and Joan Wilson, who were the music department stalwarts. I was even known to hide out in the practice rooms to prepare for concerts when I wanted to avoid games on a Wednesday afternoon! Happy memories flood back of the school musicals, instilling in me an ambition to spend the next chapter of life on stage.

I was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music where I originally studied and I am now a Professor of Singing at the world-renowned Royal Academy of Music, and I am continually delighted to hear of all the Belfast High success stories. I truly value being a small part of this amazing school’s history.

I made my debut with English National Opera singing the role of Woodnymph in Dvořák’s Rusalka and rejoined the company to sing Amor in Orpheus and Eurydice and Belinda in Dido and Aeneas. I have sung the roles of Carolina in Cimarosa’s A Secret Marriage for Opera North, Gilda in Rigoletto and Micaela in Carmen for Castleward Opera, and appeared in the role of Echo in a concert performance of Ariadne auf Naxos at the Barbican with the City of London Sinfonia conducted by Richard Hickox, all to critical acclaim. I have sung Poulenc’s Gloria and Fauré’s La Fête Étrange at the Royal Opera House.

I was appointed as a company principal with English National Opera, with performances broadcast on BBC2 and Radio 3. An experienced oratorio and concert soloist, I have performed with The City of London Sinfonia, the Classical Opera Company, The Early Opera Company, The King’s Consort, the Irish Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the English Chamber Orchestra, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, The Academy of Ancient Music, the Dutch Radio Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Proms, La Serenissima in Spain, the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra, the Northern Sinfonia, the Brno Philharmonic, the Israel Camerata. I have worked with a number of conductors including Nicholas McGegan, Thierry Fischer, Christian Curnyn, Jane Glover, Kenneth Montgomery, Richard Hickox, Takuo Yuasa, Paul Daniel, Harry Christophers, Harry Bicket and John Nelson.

Recent and forthcoming engagements include performances with the English National Opera, Stanley Hall Opera, Cheltenham Bach Choir, Prague Philharmonic, Ulster Orchestra, Irish Baroque Orchestra and RTÉ Symphony Orchestra.