Programme

Kathy Otto is delighted to return as an adjudicator this year. A graduate of the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts, she made her West End debut in Prisoner Cell Block H The Musical alongside Paul O’Grady, Liz Smith and Bella Emberg, and toured nationally in Dr Dolittle with Phillip Schofield, Russ Abbot and Paul Nicholas. Her theatre credits include Come and Go, Play, Peer Gynt, Women of Twilight, Vinegar Tom and Alan Ayckbourn’s Bedroom Farce, alongside appearances in film, TV, corporate productions and adverts.

She ran her own drama school, Gladrags, for ten years, has cast and directed productions including the all-child feature Journey to the Moon, and is founder and CEO of Kogo Productions Ltd, Planet Me Ltd and The Weather Dome Ltd. Kathy recently directed Annie at The Point and is preparing Peter Pan at Winchester Theatre Royal this summer.

Alongside her work in the arts, she is a Medical Communication Specialist, delivering and developing specialist linguistics and communication courses for International Medical Graduates and healthcare professionals across the NHS and private sectors.

Kathy is mother to an 18-year-old son, stepmother to two grown daughters, has fostered ten children, and shares her home with three dogs and two cats.

Lucy Braga studied singing with Patricia MacMahon and Peter Wilson at the RSAMD. She then studied with Carol Blaickner-Mayo and Paul Hamburger whilst living and performing in Vienna. She has been a member of the Vienna State Opera Chorus (1st Soprano) and also a member of Arnold Schönberg Choir, Vienna.

She was the Soprano Soloist (Engel) in the World Premiere of Wolfgram Wagner's oratorio "Augustinum". For the past four years she has been a soloist in the Mozart Festival Chorus, Carols by Candlelight, Royal Albert Hall. She also performed in Karl Jenkins' The Armed Man and Symphonic Adiemus (World Premiere), Royal Festival Hall. Her Opera Roles performed include: Edith - Pirates of Penzance, Mercedes - Carmen, Yum Yum - The Mikado, Title role - Iolanthe, Pamina - Die Zauberflote, and Casilda - The Gondoliers.

After studies at Oxford University and the Royal College of Music,Luise’s career as a professional Soprano soloist took her throughout the UK, Europe, America and South Africa. While specialising primarily in Oratorio, she also gave many Song Recitals and appeared on the opera stage at Buxton Opera House. Her several recordings and BBC broadcasts included performances of Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Creation and works by Goehr.

Luise has held teaching positions in both the Junior and Senior departments of the Birmingham Conservatoire and as a visiting lecturer at Birmingham University. She has worked as a Vocal Coach on several residential courses for singers and as a mentor on the CT ABRSM teacher training course. She has also coached and conducted the Wyre Forest Young Voices choir.

As Associate Chief Examiner in Music for Trinity College, London for many years, Luise travelled extensively and worked on syllabus setting and leading projects for diplomas, examiner training and teacher support.

Now working as a freelance consultant, she continues to have special responsibility for singing at Trinity. Publications include a set of books of Musical Theatre repertoire in collaboration with colleague John Gardyne, choosing songs and writing the teaching notes for a new set of graded
song books and recently, compiling two books of diploma songs. In 2016 she was awarded an Hon TCL.

Luise runs an extensive private teaching practice and regularly gives masterclasses, choral workshops, presentations and teacher sessions both at home and abroad. She has recently been appointed as the singing teacher at Keble College, Oxford and has also qualified as a Vocal First Aider.

She is a highly experienced adjudicator member of the British & International Federation of Festivals and was privileged to be an adjudicator for the inaugural Olga and Jules Craen Young Musician of the Year award in Mumbai, India and for the first Maltese Islands Festival in Valletta, Malta as well as adjudicating and running workshops at the Singapore Performing Arts Festival.

Mark Eden studied at the Royal Academy of Music, graduating with DipRAM, and the Julian Bream Prize. While at the RAM he formed the Eden Stell Guitar Duo with Chris Stell and together they were awarded the Principal's Prize for Achievement.

Mark is also a founder member of the Vida Guitar Quartet who have had international success and acclaim, touring regularly in the USA, Europe and China. Mark features on recordings with the BGS, Naxos, and Deux-Elles labels with the Eden Stell Guitar Duo and VIDA Guitar Quartet. In recent years Mark has accompanied tenor James Gilchrist, recording as part of the complete collect of Stephen Dodgson’s songs on the Somm label in 2020.

Mark is an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in recognition of his performing achievements, a D’Addario artist, and has taught at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire since 2004. He lives and teaches in Winchester and is Artistic Director of the Winchester guitar Festival.

Mark Tanner is a concert pianist, composer, B.I.F.F. adjudicator, teacher and writer. His performing and academic work takes him regularly to all five continents. Solo appearances include many recitals at London’s Wigmore Hall, South Bank Centre and St John’s Smith Square, as well as St George’s Bristol, where he performed in piano duo with Alan Schiller at the Mozart 250th Anniversary Celebrations. He appears regularly on luxury cruise liners, having given in excess of 300 recitals on all of the Cunard, P&O and Saga ships.

Conductor and pianist Philip Walsh was born in Southampton, where he studied piano and organ, and went on to read music as organ scholar at Queens’ College, Cambridge University, studying with the renowned Bach specialist Peter Hurford. After graduating he spent several years in New Zealand, where he was Director of Music at Wellington Cathedral and conductor of the Wellington Youth Orchestra.

On his return to Europe he has worked for L’Opéra de Metz, L'Opéra de Bordeaux, English Touring Opera, Almeida Opera, London and the Aldeburgh Festival. He made his Spanish debut conducting Don Giovanni for Opera en Vigo. Orchestras he has conducted include the London Sinfonietta, the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, Orchestra della Teatro La Fenice, Orchestra della Teatro Comunale, Bologna, L'Orchestre National de Lorraine, RTS Symphony Orchestra, Belgrade, and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

His credits include his debut at La Fenice, Venice, also appearing at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna and the Lugo Opera Festival. He also worked with the Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini, having appeared with pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet in concerts in Parma, Modena, and Ferrara, and with jazz legend Dee Dee Bridgewater in the Verona Jazz Festival.

For many years he was the artistic director of the French opera festival Lyrique-en-mer for whom he conducted over 200 performances of a number of operas and choral works and was responsible for the festival’s extensive young artist programme.

He is resident conductor of the Victoria International Arts Festival in Gozo, Malta, and works regularly with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra.

Philip is an examiner and adjudicator for the ABRSM, for whom he has worked in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and India, as well as across the UK and Ireland.

Rebecca studied music at the University of Southampton where she graduated with a first-class honours degree in 2004. She then went on to obtain an M. St. in Musicology from the University of Oxford in 2005. For over a decade Rebecca studied singing with the late Christine Page, and now continues her professional development with Dr. Jenevora Williams. Rebecca has been privileged to work with companies such as Dorset Opera, and she has played roles in numerous operas and musicals over the years with favourites including Anna in the Merry Widow and Joanna in Sweney Todd. Other performing engagements have included soloist for Dorchester Choral Socicty at the Bayeux Chante L'Europe Festival, and soprano soloist for Poulenc's Gloria and Faure's Requiem for Fordingbridge Choral Society.

Rebecca has worked as a singing, piano and music teacher across Dorset.

Hampshire, and Essex, within primary, preparatory, and secondary schools, delivering workshops, running choirs, and teaching individual students. She also enjoys the diversity of working with private students aged 4 - 75! In addition to this, Rebecca has coached at the National Children's Choir of Great Britain as well as Stage Coach, Razzamatazz, and Bournemouth Youth Theatre schools. When not performing on the stage, Rebecca has also taken the baton as Musical Director for both Southampton and Eastleigh Junior Operatic Societies.

In 2016, Rebecca became an ABRSM music examiner and presenter, and has since travelled both internationally and nationally assessing candidates.