NI Opera Chorus

Meet the singers taking part in our Chorus Development Programme

Soprano

Rachael Heater

Rachael is an American soprano based in Lisburn. Born in Pennsylvania, she grew up in a musical family. Between 2011-2014, Rachael had the privilege…
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Sarah Hoben

Sarah Hoben is a 20-year-old soprano from Newry. She is studying Music and Audio Production at Queen's University, Belfast. Sarah studies singing under the…
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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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Alice Johnston

Alice was born in Belfast and studied Primary Education at Stranmillis University. Since leaving university, Alice has pursued a teaching career in tandem with…
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Erin Kennedy

Erin Kennedy is an inspiring soprano from Newtownabbey, with a BA Honours degree in Music from Ulster University. As part of the Ulster University…
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Niamh Lavery

Niamh is a soprano and graduate of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama where she held the Mary D Adams scholarship for…
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Ella Linton

Ella Linton, from Jordanstown, is a French and Spanish student at Queen’s University Belfast. Alongside her language studies, she works as a peripatetic music…
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Carla Murphy

Carla is a classical and musical theatre trained soprano based in Belfast and is trained by Debra Stuart, Ashley Fulton and Alice Johnston. Carla…
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Susan Shepherd

Susan is a well-respected and much sought-after singing teacher and versatile Soprano from Carrickfergus. A graduate of Queen’s University Belfast, Susan holds a First…
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Melanie Topley

Melanie graduated from Queens University with a BA (Hons) in Music and English and an MA in Opera Studies before completing her PGCE in…
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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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Petra Wells

Petra Wells is a soprano based in Belfast. She trained originally under Professor Robert Alderson whilst studying Law at the University of Manchester and…
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Mezzo Soprano

Sarah Alcorn

Sarah is a mezzo-soprano based in Belfast, but originating from Cheshire. She completed a BMus at Sheffield University. After moving to Northern Ireland, Sarah…
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Jenny Bourke

Jenny is a music graduate of Queen’s University Belfast and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She has been an Associated Artist with Northern Ireland…
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Naomi Cantley

Naomi is a Belfast-based mezzo-soprano. She has sung with the Northern Ireland Opera chorus, Spark Opera, Capella Caeciliana, the Belfast Philharmonic Choir and the…
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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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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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Fiona McIlroy

Fiona is a Belfast based mezzo-soprano who graduated from Queen’s University with a BMus (Hons). She was the conductor of two student choirs in…
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Caroline Woods

Caroline Woods is a soprano based in Belfast. She studied Music at Royal Holloway, University of London, where she studied Voice as her first…
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Tenor

Charlie Clarke-Hughes

Charlie Clarke-Hughes is a British tenor based in the North Coast of Northern Ireland. Performing nationally and internationally, he's held the position of lay…
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Graeme Hacking

After gaining his PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Cambridge, Graeme went to the Royal Academy of Music in London where he…
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Desmond Havlin

Desmond Havlin is a tenor from Bangor, County Down and is based in Belfast. He studies singing with operatic bass Graeme Danby and has…
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Stephen Rusk

Northern Irish tenor Stephen Rusk has been singing since he was a boy and formally trained as a pianist and organist, studying at Queen’s…
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Gabriel Seawright

Gabriel Seawright is a Tenor from Bangor, Northern Ireland, who studied with Peter Wilson as the Baroness De Turckheim Scholar at the Royal Northern…
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Fergal White

Fergal is a classically trained tenor from South Down who recently completed a Diploma in Musical Theatre from London College of Music. He has…
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Baritone

Seamus Brady

Seamus Brady is a Baritone from Newry, Co. Down & is a MMus student at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Seamus is an alumnus…
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James Cooper

James is a Northern Irish Bass based in Belfast and performing across the UK who first joined the NI Opera Chorus for their 2018…
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Ryan Garnham

A bass/baritone from Ballynahinch, Northern Ireland, Ryan graduated from Queen’s University Belfast with First Class Honours in Music in 2019, winning a Flax Trust…
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Matthew Jeffrey

Matthew trained with the Lyric Theatre’s Drama Studio whilst studying at Queen’s University Belfast. He performs with choirs and ensembles including St George’s Choir,…
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Paul McQuillan

Northern Irish Baritone, Paul studied singing with the late Frank Capper and Russell Smythe. He has performed in the chorus for Northern Ireland Opera…
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Cameron Menzies

Bryan Evans

Jac van Steen

Jennifer Rooney

James Grossmith

Zoë Seaton

Events

Chorus

The NI Opera Chorus performing with the Ulster Orchestra in April 2025

Music for Good Friday