Vocal Summer School

Kate joined St Mary’s Music School in August 2022 as Music Department Manager and was appointed as Head of Voice in 2024, leading Scotland’s only full-time Vocal Programme for school-aged pupils. Having graduated from both the Royal College of Music and the Royal Academy Music, Kate has spent the last 9 years working as a professional opera singer. After completing her formal education, Kate went on to become a member of Studio Opéra de Lyon, France, where she discovered a love for French repertoire and learnt to speak the language fluently. She is also a proud Samling Artist and works with the Samling Academy.  

Recent operatic highlights include Mezzo Soloist in Scottish Opera’s Autumn Highlights Tour, Dorabella (Cosi fan tutte by Mozart) and Carmen (Carmen by Bizet) for Diva Opera, The Woman (The Soldier’s Return by Marcos Fernandez-Barrero) for Opera Sunderland and Charles Grey (Georgiana compiled by Mark Tatlow) for Buxton Opera Festival. For Opéra de Lyon, Katherine has sung the roles of Witness 2/Singer 2/Woman 2 (Lessons in Love and Violence by George Benjamin), Tisbe (La Cenerentola by Rossini) and Pippetto (Donizetti’s Viva la Mamma!). Katherine also sang Pippetto (Donizetti’s Viva la Mamma!) for Grand Théâtre de Genève, Tisbe (La Cenerentola by Rossini) in the Edinburgh International Festival and Cherubino (The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart) for English Touring Opera as well as premiering the role of Beauty in Beauty and the Seven Beasts by The Opera Story, a role which was written for her.   

On the concert platform, recent highlights have included the UK Premier of Is A Rose by Caroline Shaw with the Royal Northern Sinfonia as well as concerts with Brandenburg Choral Festival, Southern Cathedrals Festival and Opera de Lyon.   

Kate has always had a passion for music education. She has taught singing and music theory privately and in schools since 2010 as well as being heavily involved in outreach projects with companies such as Samling Institute for Young Artists and Edinburgh International Festival. In her role at St Mary’s Music School, Kate hopes to bring her musical and professional experiences to the next generation of artists so they can emerge into the industry with all the tools they need to succeed.   

Anna has performed internationally as a soloist and chamber musician and was one of the first students to be awarded a double Bachelors degree from Maastricht Conservatoire in the Netherlands, studying both Piano and Music Theory.

Anna also graduated with a Masters and Artist Diploma from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS), studying under Aaron Shorr. Anna is interested in unearthing hidden treasures of the classical repertoire, with a focus on the Scottish composer Ronald Center, resulting in international lecture-recitals, including at the London International Piano Symposium and Musica Scotica Conference. She founded the Ad Libitum Collective, an ensemble at the RCS that explores the possibilities of free improvisation.

The group collaborates closely with dancers, and this has led to a multidisciplinary performance as part of the annual Piano Festival at RCS. As a solo improviser, she represented the RCS at the METRIC Improvisation Conference in Leipzig in 2023. A recipient of the Cross Trust, Anna was awarded the Falkirk Civic Trust ‘Young Personality of the Year’ and, alongside soprano Rosie Lavery, she works regularly with the charity Live Music Now Scotland, bringing music to those who need it most.