In St Leonard’s school hall in Durham, a group of students are thinking about their posture, stretching their arms, doing breathing exercises and sticking out their tongues.
This wasn’t an unconventional PE lesson, but a workshop in classical singing, led by two opera stars who were visiting schools across the North East sharing the secrets of their success. They were part of Samling Futures, a project run by Samling Institute for Young Artists to find and train the next generation of classical singers.
Baritone Dominic Sedgwick had literally run straight from the stage of London’s Royal Opera House in Covent Garden where he is currently appearing in Verdi’s ‘Rigoletto’, to catch the last train north.
He joined mezzo-soprano Heather Lowe, who recently appeared in several roles at Newcastle’s Theatre Royal with Opera North, and pianist Lana Bode, a professor at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, in a series of visits to schools and choirs in Gateshead and Durham.
Read more: Samling Institute for Young Artists continues to inspire during lockdown
The trio gave masterclasses with current singers from Samling Institute’s thriving Samling Academy programme to demonstrate the wide range of skills that go into classical singing and they worked with singers from each school to help them polish their own performances.
They also gave the students a tool-kit of exercises to use when preparing for singing or for any other physical activity, drawing links between singing and sport.
The sessions introduced students to the powerful sound of classical singing and showcased the opportunities available at Samling Academy.
Read more: Opera stars pay virtual visit to region to share insights with young singers
This nationally renowned programme provides singers aged 14 to 21 who live or study in North East England with intensive coaching in vocal technique, acting, languages and movement and performance opportunities and many previous participants have gone on to become professional singers.
Two of the current Samling Academy singers who took part in the sessions – Megan Moffitt from Egglescliffe School and Ava da Costa from King Edward VI School Morpeth – were both inspired to audition for the programme after seeing similar workshops in their own schools two years ago.
Ava da Costa said “the experience of taking part in these workshops allowed me to share my experiences with other young students, and hopefully inspire them like I was inspired when I attended Samling Futures in 2020.”
Megan Moffitt added “It’s amazing to be a part of something that once inspired me to audition for Samling. I really hope it gave food for thought to the students. This will be my third year with Samling Academy and they’ve helped me, guided me and offered me so much, I am so grateful.”
Matthew Grehan-Bradley, Head of Music at St Leonard’s School, Durham said “It was an enjoyable and inspirational afternoon and a wonderful opportunity for our students”.
Karon Wright, Artistic and Executive Director of Samling Institute said “We enjoyed meeting students in Gateshead and Durham and sharing the opportunities and pathways we offer.
There are no tuition fees for the Academy, so no barriers to taking part, and we hope that as a result of we will discover and support more young people with a passion and commitment to sing classically. We’re delighted that some of the singers we met last week have already applied to audition for us and we hope that more will come along.”
For more visit samling.org.uk.
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