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Soprano Margreet Honig is frequently invited to give masterclasses and interpretation courses across Europe as well as in North and South America. She has conducted masterclasses at conservatories such as those in Zurich, Basel, Hamburg, and Versailles, as well as at the Conservatoire National Supérieur in Paris, the Royal Academy of Music in London, and the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. Margreet Honig also regularly teaches at the opera studios of the Bavarian State Opera and the Latvian National Opera. For the past thirty years, she has dedicated herself entirely to the pedagogical aspects of singing. She worked for many years as a professor at the Rotterdam Conservatory and the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. Many singers from around the world have found their way to the great stages with the help of Margreet Honig as their vocal coach.
Soprano Margreet Honig studied with Annie Hermes and Corrie Bijster at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. She then continued her studies in the United States with Evelyne Lear and in Paris under the guidance of Pierre Bernac, specializing in the French repertoire. She has given numerous recitals with pianist Rudolf Jansen and has made countless recordings with him and the Radio Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Kenneth Montgomery.
Wilma Bierens was born in Maastricht. Her unique soprano voice was discovered at the age of 8. Wilma studied at the conservatory in her hometown with Mya Besselink and the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam. At the Maastricht Conservatory she obtained the DM and UM diplomas and opera class diploma Summa Cum Laude. Immediately after her studies she received the Edmond Hustinx prize and won the second prize at the Cristina Deutekom Competition. Wilma was coached at that time by Mya Besselink, who taught her the art of expressive singing. She also took intensive lessons with opera singer Cristina Deutekom, with Nelly Miricioiu and with singing teacher Gemma Visser. In 1995 Wilma took part in the IVC masterclass of Christa Ludwig in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and was the only Dutch person chosen to participate in the final concert.
Wilma has played leading roles in opera and operetta both at home and abroad. Wilma has also built up an extensive repertoire in the field of oratorio and song. She has sung leading roles with De Hoofdstad Operette , a company that brought operetta productions and concerts to the stage throughout the Netherlands. Wilma has also sung in productions of, among others, the Reisopera and Opera Zuid. She also regularly performs with well-known choirs, such as the Mastreechter Staar and the Westlands Mannenkoor . She has also recorded albums with these well-known male choirs . In 1998, Wilma made an appearance together with the well-known choir de Mastreechter Staar during the opening of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt. This performance was attended by numerous European presidents and was also broadcast worldwide.
Rosemary Joshua is the director of the Dutch National Opera Studio, a two-year trainee programme for young artists that started in September 2018.
Joshua’s career as a singer has spanned over three decades. She appeared on all the main international stages in the world, in roles such as Adele in Die Fledermaus (Metropolitan Opera), Tytania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (La Scala di Milano), Anne Trulove in The Rake’s Progress (Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Glyndebourne, La Monnaie Brussels), Despina in Così fan tutte (ROH Covent Garden, LA Philharmonic), and Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro (Glyndebourne, Oper Köln, Bayerische Staatsoper München, Welsh National Opera, English National Opera). Her extensive concert repertoire has been in collaboration with some of the greatest conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, Gustavo Dudamel, Sir Mark Elder, Vladimir Jorowski, Sir Charles Mackerras, Sir Collin Davis, Rene Jacobs and William Christie.
Joshua has been teaching, coaching, and advising young singers since 2015 and was appointed as head of the Dutch National Opera Studio in September 2018, helping to create a brand new, relevant international programme supporting and representing some of the brightest talents of the new generation.
Thanks to prolific careers both as pianist and award-winning broadcaster, Iain Burnside is one of the UK’s best-known musicians.
Iain has worked with a broad roster of international singers: Dame Margaret Price, Rosa Feola, Ailish Tynan, Joyce DiDonato, Laurence Brownlee, Roderick Williams, and Bryn Terfel, among many others. He has recorded more than 60 CDs, often created around neglected composers, where his curatorial skills are displayed to the full. He is a great champion of young singers, playing a crucial role in introducing them to a wider audience.
Innovative programme planning has led Iain to expand his concert work into a hybrid form of music theatre, creating staged work around Brahms (Shining Armour), Wagner (The View from the Villa) and Gurney (A Soldier and a Maker). He has broadcast extensively on both radio and TV, notably as host of BBC R3’s acclaimed Voices series.
In addition to a long association with London’s Guildhall School, Iain is Visiting International Artist at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, Dublin. He is Artistic Director of the Ludlow English Song Weekend and Artistic Consultant to Grange Park Opera, Surrey.
Few countertenors have pushed the boundaries of repertoire and sound more than Andrew Watts. A dramatic voice unlike any other and extraordinary stagecraft and presence make him a unique performer not only of parts traditionally associated with the voice type, but also a pioneer of 20th and 21st-century repertoire. He is associated particularly with parts like Edgar in Reiman’s Lear, which he has performed at Staatsoper Hamburg, Opéra national de Paris, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Bayerische Staatsoper Munich and which will take him to Teatro Real Madrid next season.
Since August 2023, Andrew Watts has assumed the role of General & Artistic Director of the International Vocal Competition.
British pianist Ian Tindale is increasingly in demand in song and chamber music and has performed across London, the UK and Europe. Recent engagements have included song recitals at the Oxford Lieder Festival, Buxton Festival and Ryedale Festival, and he frequently collaborates with artists such as Soraya Mafi, James Newby, Anna Harvey, Josep-Ramon Olivé and Rowan Pierce.
Ian read Music at Selwyn College, Cambridge, and continued his studies at the Royal College of Music (RCM) in London with Simon Lepper, John Blakely and Roger Vignoles; he graduated with distinction in 2013. In 2017 Ian was awarded the Pianist’s Prize in the Wigmore Hall/Kohn Foundation Song Competition following performances with duo partner soprano Harriet Burns. Ian has also won accompaniment prizes at the Kathleen Ferrier Awards, Royal Overseas League Music Competition, Gerald Moore Award and Maggie Teyte Competition. Ian has worked with established artists Ailish Tynan, Christopher Purves, Susan Bullock and Nicky Spence and performed in masterclasses with Graham Johnson, Malcolm Martineau, Sarah Connolly, Gerald Finley, Thomas Allen, John Tomlinson, Felicity Lott, Brigitte Fassbaender, Elly Ameling and Olaf Bär. Ian was a soloist for a royal audience at Buckingham Palace as part of the Royal Music Day for Schools, and he has performed at the British Ambassador’s Residence in Paris and for visits to the RCM of the First Lady of China and RCM President HRH the Prince of Wales. In both 2016 and 2017 Ian performed at the Wigmore Hall Samling Showcase after being selected as a Samling Artist in 2014, and he continues to work as a pianist and coach for Samling Academy. Ian is also a Britten Pears Young Artist.
Ian is also Artistic Director of Shipston Song, an annual song festival on the edge of the Cotswolds which he founded in 2022, and performers have included Roderick Williams, Helen Charlston, Jess Dandy, Julien van Mellaerts and Laurence Kilsby.
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