NICK NEWLAND  MUSICAL DIRECTOR


Born in London, Nick began studying the tuba at the age of five. Whilst at primary school we was a founder member of the Southwark Children's Foundation Primary Brass Band - he was to continue with the band until he started at the Centre for Young Musicians, and then returned to the group as a coach every Saturday morning for four years in a voluntary capacity.  During his time at secondary school, Nick played as principal tuba in the London Schools Symphony Orchestra, London Youth Wind Band and London Schools Symphonic Band.  It was during this period that he founded the charity Tuba2Cuba, eventually sending more than £100,000's worth of instruments and musical equipment to schools in Cuba by organising fundraising concerts which involved over 1000 young musicians in four years. Having completed his A levels and recovered from an injury that left him in a wheelchair for over a year, Nick spent four months in Cuba teaching at the Centro Nacional de Escuelas des Artes and was honoured to assistt as a vocal coach on a project with the National Dance School of Cuba, Dutch dance group Le Grand Cru and National Youth String Orchestra of the Netherlands for the joint production El Camina del Agua. Nick then attended Trinity College of Music, where he studied the tuba with George Wall and Oren Marshall.

 

As a tuba player, Nick has worked with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Brighton Philharmonic, London Philharmonic Open Ear Orchestra and many other ensembles. Working engagements have included all the major London halls, as well as performances in Japan, Cuba (with Los Van Van), most of central and eastern Europe as well as around the UK and Ireland.  In 2005, he founded the London Irish Symphony Orchestra, with whom he commissioned 12 major new works from young Irish composers. With LISO he has conducted at City Hall as a guest of the Mayor of London, the Irish Embassy and the Cadogan Hall.  Working with Robert Jeffery, Nick founded Situation Opera in 2007 to provide young professionals the opportunity to further their careers - bridging the gap between Music College and "the Profession".

 

As a conductor, Nick's focus has been on the works of Mozart and Haydn and in particular their concerti. He has performed many of Mozart's masses - with a particular passion for the Grosse Mass in C minor and Requiem Mass in D minor. He has worked around the UK as a conductor, assistant conductor and musical director and made his international debut in Guernsey in 2009. Nick acted as Assistant Conductor and Production Manager for Mean Time Opera's Carmen in 2007 and assisted in rehearsal and production of performances of Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice and, in Hertfordshire, Purcell's Dido and Aeneas with the English Chamber Orchestra. In 2008 he produced Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte with Situation Opera. The summer of 2009 saw Nick produce Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro with OperaGold, and conduct the same work with Situation Opera - his operatic debut. He is currently preparing for the 2009-2010 Concerto Series and working on next summer's Situation Opera production Die Entführung aus dem Serail.



JUDITH SHERIDAN  CONDUCTOR

Judith's rich and varied musical career has taken her across continents and into the opera houses, concert halls and educational establishments of Europe and America. After graduating from the Royal Northern College of Music, and Lancaster University, her studies led finally to the Opera Studio in Hamburg, after which she spent ten happy years treading the boards as an Opera Diva. Since returning to England, Judith now divides her time between performing, conducting and teaching. A former voice tutor at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, the Birmingham School of Acting and Queens University, Belfast, Judith currently teaches at Exeter University and in London. Judith's special interest in the rarely performed music by composers banned under the Nazi regime led her to devise the Forbidden Voices project, which she has performed together with the pianist Craig Combs in the UK and in the USA and a CD of the same name has been released on the Divine Art label. Judith performs regularly in the UK, Europe and the USA as a soloist, and appearing with the Midgard Ensemble, Twenty21 and the vocal duet partnership, "Duality". As a conductor, Judith regularly conducts three community choirs, and is Artistic Director and Conductor of the Musical Theatre company "Toccata - Musical Productions for Charitable Causes" with whom she has toured to India and most recently, Zambia.  Judith has been involved with Situation Opera since its inception, contributing as vocal coach, singer and conductor in the concerto series. For the 2008 production of Cosi Fan Tutte, Judith was vocal coach for the main cast, and has performed vocally both as a member of the Chorus of Situation Opera and as a soloist in Handel's Messiah. The 2009-2010 Season will feature her third and fourth performances conducting The Orchestra in our Concerto Series.