Biographies

Rebecca Martin

Mezzo







Rebecca won a scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she studied French song with Robin Bowman and Ian Burnside, German Lieder with Rudolf Piernay, English Song with Michael Pilkington, and Italian Song with Tina Ruta. After graduating in the highest class, she became a member of the Ad Hoc BBC Singers and the Covent Garden Extra Chorus, won the Dorchester Young Musicians Platform (radio recital) and was finalist in the International Peter Wishart English Song Competition. Having lived in Italy for several years, Rebecca is now based in the UK, where her performances have included appearances on BBC TV and solo and ensemble work with Opera Anywhere, Oxford Opera Studio and Charity Opera, as well as a busy schedule of oratorio and concert work in venues such as St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square.

Nia Williams

Piano





Nia graduated with a First in History from the University of Exeter and has an MA in European Studies. She works as a freelance accompanist, composer and writer. Her repertoire as a concert accompanist includes English, French, German, Russian and Italian song, as well as a wide range of operatic work and other genres such as musical theatre. Nia plays regularly for soloists and for the trio Terzina, as well as Mezzopiano, and has played for companies such as English Touring Opera, Opera Anywhere and Stagecoach, as well as accompanying masterclasses by performers including Jean Allister, Mary Hill, Beryl Foster and Graham Trew. She has musically directed workshops for Creation Theatre, the Birmingham Hippodrome and the Royal Academy of Music, and has accompanied singers at venues including St Martin-in-the-Fields and the Royal Opera House. Nia is the author of three novels, 'The Pier Glass', 'Persons Living or Dead' and 'The Colour of Grass'; and her short stories have been published in anthologies and broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and Radio Wales. Other work includes lyrics/libretti for choral works and opera; a 'chamber musical' for three voices, 'Daddy's Girls', and a stage musical in collaboration with Andy Milburn, 'Love Online'.

For more information visit Nia's website at www.niawilliams.com.