Elisabeth Meister
Elisabeth’s operatic career has seen her in leading roles in major opera houses worldwide, from Aida in Santiago de Chile to Lucrezia Borgia in Brussels, and several roles for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, where she trained as Jette Parker Young Artist. She established the Meister Music Opera Platform in 2015 in order to bring her message to a worldwide audience about the importance of the continued support and promotion of UK-based and UK-trained opera singers.
Elaine Padmore OBE
Elaine began her career as a singer and repetiteur, became a lecturer at the Royal Academy of Music and well-known BBC broadcaster and producer. In the world of opera she ran Ireland‘s Wexford Festival and Opera Ireland, the London Opera Festival and arena operas at Earl’s Court, and spent seven years leading the Royal Danish Opera in Copenhagen before becoming Director of Opera at the ROH where she held office from 2000-2011, and initiated the Young Artists Programme.
David Syrus
David has been associated with the Royal Opera since 1971, as a repetiteur and coach, and was appointed Head of Music in 1993. His passion for text in opera is limitless, and much of his work with singers centres around the importance of clarity and transparency in singing.
Mark Shanahan
Principal Guest Conductor of the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra and Head of Music at the National Opera Studio, London, Mark is a leading interpreter of the works of Puccini and Verdi. His orchestral work includes broadcasts and concerts with the BBC, National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, RTE Concert Orchestra, Netherlands Symphony, and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Michael Lloyd
Michael has worked with Scottish Ballet, Staatstheater Kassel, Württembergisches Staatstheater, Stuttgart, ENO, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, English National Ballet, Ulster Orchestra and Opera Holland Park. He coaches singers at every stage of their career, drawing on his extensive knowledge and experience of orchestral scoring to give a very deep level of teaching to his students
Susanna Stranders
Susanna is Head of Music at Garsington Opera. She previously held positions at Cincinnati Opera, San Francisco Opera’s Merola Programme, and was a member of the Houston Grand Opera Studio, Texas. She has worked regularly for the Royal Opera House, for New York City Opera at BAM, for the Glyndebourne Festival and Tour, Opera Grange Park, the Philharmonia orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Complicite, and the Festspiele and Landestheater, Salzburg.
Stuart Pritchard
An award-winning behavioural psychologist, Stuart works with musicians, actors, and other artists to help them overcome performance anxiety issues, through coaching and other techniques, to find their optimum performance in front of an audience.
Nicki Wenham
Founder Member and Current Board Member at Young People In the Arts and Artist Manager at Ingpen & Williams, Nicki was interviewed and selected by Musical America In 2012 as a rising star of the performing arts business. She is responsible for the careers, of over twenty five international artists including opera singers, conductors, pianists and cellists. She also assists in the UK touring of the West Eastern Divan and Chicago Symphony Orchestras.
Mark Kendall
Making the most of Mark’s former training as a tenor, and combining it with the negotiating, contract and budget management skills learned in previous jobs, Mark moved into artist management in 2005. Mark has been the director of Mark Kendall Artists Management since March 2008 and since then MKAM has established a strong portfolio of singers and conductors – finding the best new talent and supporting established artists to fulfil their potential.
Nelson Whaley
Nelson has over 30 years’ experience in the real estate industry in London, responsible for the strategic asset management of numerous clients’ real estate portfolios valued in excess of £1 Billion located in prime areas of central London and throughout the UK.
He has worked closely with international firms including Knight Frank, and advised clients including The Crown Estate, GlaxoSmithKline, The University of Cambridge, City of London Livery Companies, and managed buildings occupied by The Royal Family of The Sultan of Brunei, Lord Byron, Fleur Cowles, and British Prime Ministers from Sir William Gladstone to Lady Margaret Thatcher.
Andrew Dinkenor
Andrew is employed as Finance Manager for a large Barristers Chambers having joined in 2007 from another large set of Chambers, where he was Head of Finance for six years. He has had various roles in both commerce and practice including Finance Development Worker for a Co-operative Development Agency, Community Accountant for an Inner London Borough, and Head of Finance and Project Accountant for a leading economics research foundation.
Tess Gibbs
Tess is a director and choreographer working in the UK and internationally. Companies she has worked with include ENO, De Vlaamse Opera, Wexford Festival Opera, Garsington Opera, Opera North, Angers Nantes Opera and Théâtre du Châtelet. She has worked with leading UK conservatoires including Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, and the Royal College of Music and with the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House where she managed the Programme’s theatrical output.