NI Opera Chorus

Meet the singers taking part in our Chorus Development Programme for 2023

Soprano

Alice Johnston

Alice was born in Lisburn and educated in Belfast. Alice studies singing with international Mezzo Soprano Valerie Reid. She has performed in venues across…
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Erin Kennedy

Erin Kennedy is an inspiring mezzo-soprano from Newtownabbey, with a Second Class Upper Division BA in Music from Ulster University. Her final year performance…
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Hayley Howe

Hayley Howe took a roundabout route to her present career in music. After reading Modern Languages at Edinburgh University, she trained as a teacher…
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Marcella Walsh

Award winning Belfast Soprano Marcella Walsh graduated from QUB with a BMus. and RIAM with PGDipMus. followed by MMus. in Operatic Performance, under the…
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Melanie Topley

Melanie Topley graduated from Queens University, Belfast with a BA (Hons) in Music and English, studying voice with the late Irene Sandford and previously…
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Niamh Lavery

Niamh Lavery, originally from Lurgan in Co Armagh, is a soprano and a graduate of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Glasgow…
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Petra Wells

Petra Wells is a soprano based in Belfast, performing internationally and across the UK. She trained originally under Robert Alderson whilst studying Law at…
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Rachael Heater

Soprano Rachael Heater was born in Pennsylvania, where she learned to love music from an early age. Throughout her school years, she participated in…
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Sarah-Jane Cooper

Sarah-Jane is a classically trained soprano from Belfast, under the tutelage of acclaimed mezzo soprano, Nuala Murray. Before embarking on her music career, she…
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Susan Shepherd

Award-winning and highly versatile Carrickfergus Soprano Susan Shepherd is a well respected and much sought-after singing teacher and performer. A graduate of Queen’s University…
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Mezzo Soprano

Áine Brolly

Áine Brolly studied under acclaimed soprano, Suzanne Murphy both at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and the Irish Academy of Music…
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Cicely Hé

Cicely Hé, mezzo-soprano from China, graduated from the renowned Guildhall School of Music and Drama under Susan Waters and Valentin Lanzrein. She garnered First…
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Elspeth Orr

Elspeth Orr is a singer, conductor and educator native to Belfast, and currently teaches Music at the Methodist College. Having spent much of her…
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Fiona McIlroy

Fiona graduated from Queen’s University Belfast in 2019 with a Bachelor’s degree in music and is currently a singing teacher of musical theatre and…
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India Chapman Webb

After graduating with honours in singing performance from the Conservatoire of Music, Paris, in 2009, India went to Rome to do her Masters in…
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Jenny Bourke

Jenny is a music graduate of Queen’s University Belfast and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. Her operatic roles include Lucy Lockett…
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Naomi Cantley

Naomi is a Belfast-based mezzo-soprano. She has sung as part of the Ulster Youth Choir, Belfast Philharmonic Choir and Northern Ireland Opera chorus, as…
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Sheelagh Greer

Sheelagh Greer is a well established and experienced Mezzo Soprano, but in fact started on her musical career playing piano at a young age.…
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Susie Hunter

Susie has been singing since the age of 8, spending a lot of her early years singing in church choirs. Alongside her career in…
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Tenor

Charlie Clarke-Hughes

Charlie Clarke-Hughes is a British tenor based in Northern Ireland. Performing internationally and across the UK, he has held the position of lay clerk…
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David Corr

David Corr has developed a strong reputation for Irish Song, English Song, Oratorio and Opera. In 2020 David won the prestigious Deborah Voigt Opera…
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Desmond Havlin

Desmond is a tenor from Bangor who studied Film and Theatre Production at Queen’s University. Throughout his studies he read as a choral scholar…
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Gabriel Seawright

Gabriel Seawright received a first class Masters Degree and Postgraduate Diploma with Peter Wilson at the RNCM, generously supported by the Lord and Lady…
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Baritone

Connor Campbell

Connor Campbell is a 26-year-old Baritone from Northern Ireland. He commenced his studies at the Conservatory of Music and Drama Dublin under the tutelage…
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Conor Foster

Conor graduated in 2022 from Clare College, Cambridge with a BA in Russian, Spanish and Linguistics and sang in the well-renowned college choir. At…
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James Cooper

A bass born and based in Belfast, James brings a breadth of chorus experience. Having joined NI Opera in their 2018 and 2019 productions…
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Matthew Jeffrey

Matthew trained at the Lyric Theatre’s Drama Studio programme whilst studying at Queen’s University Belfast. He sits on the Board of Tinderbox Theatre Company…
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Paul McQuillan

Paul studied voice with Frank Capper, Judith Sheridan and Russell Smythe. He has performed in the chorus for Northern Ireland Opera for La Traviata,…
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Ryan Garnham

After graduating from Queen’s University Belfast with First Class Honours in Music, Ryan completed a PGCE Music from University of Ulster in July 2020.…
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Seamus Brady

Seamus Brady is a 4th Year student completing a Bachelor of Arts in Vocal Studies in The Royal Irish Academy on Music, Dublin, studying…
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Cameron Menzies

Bryan Evans

Jac van Steen

Jennifer Rooney

Matthew Quinn

Coaches

Events

Chorus

Find out all about our recent 'Chorus!' concert in the Harbour Commissioner's Office in May 2023

Chorus!