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We’re thrilled to have talented young opera singer Jack Dolan playing the role of Gonzalve in our production of Ravel’s L’heure espagnole.

Born and raised in Manchester, Jack Dolan is currently based in London. He is a graduate of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, having studied with Maureen Brathwaite, Sarah Pring and Adrian Thompson. At Guildhall, Jack was a John S Cohen Foundation Scholar and a Baroness de Turkenheim Scholar, supported by the Drapers’ Company.

Jack’s musical roots lie in rock and blues, and he studied guitar for six years whilst developing a love for Classical music. His eclectic musical tastes, from rock to musical theatre, sparked a fascination with vocal music and motivated his research into all different types of singing. Originally, he intended to follow an academic path and become a teacher; however, he was persuaded by Claire Surman to change his path to study at Conservatoire and train as a tenor.

We caught up with Jack to find out more:

When did you start singing and what drew you to singing as a career? 

I started singing quite late at the age of 15, honestly because I was terrible at GCSE music and my teacher told me singing would help me improve my musicianship. Eventually, my teacher thought I had a nice voice and got me an audition for a local amateur production of Les Mis. Through taking part in that production, I met my first singing teacher, Claire, who suggested I should try to sing professionally. Claire is a real inspiration to me, I had no idea about the process of training to be a professional musician at that stage and she guided me through everything. Since then, I’ve not looked back.

What are you up to at the moment?

I’ve just come out of two very busy summer and autumn seasons, which have been incredible. It’s nice to be enjoying some downtime at the moment. Currently, I’m working with ETO for their Spring season. I’m covering Edmondo and in the ensemble for Manon Lescaut and singing in the ensemble for The Rake’s Progress.

What do you feel you might gain from this experience with ERSO?

The chance to work on such an interesting piece of repertoire, with all of its amazing orchestral colours will be such a good experience. It’s also incredibly exciting to meet and work with a new conductor and group of artists for the first time. Singing as a soloist to professionals in the industry could lead to new opportunities, which is always an exciting prospect.

We are delighted that the talented young mezzo Phoebe Rayner will be taking on the role of Concepción in our production of Ravel’s L’heure espagnole.

Originally from Oxfordshire, British mezzo-soprano Phoebe Rayner is a recent graduate of the Royal College of Music and Royal Northern College of Music. She is a Stoller Hall Emerging Artist and Britten Pears Young Artist specialising in contemporary music and the development of new works. Roles and scenes performed include Nerone in Agrippina (Hampstead Garden Opera), La chatte/L’ecureuil in L’enfant et les sortilèges (RCM Opera Studio), Stewardess in Flight (RCM Opera Studio), Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel (Westminster Opera Company), Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro, Dorabella in Così fan tutte, and Nancy in Albert Herring (RCM Scenes).

We caught up with Phoebe to find out a bit more:

When did you start singing and what drew you to singing as a career? 

From an early age, I was inspired by theatrical singers like Cathy Berberian and Yma Sumac who challenged pre-conceptions of the classical voice, and knew it was a career I wanted to pursue. 

What are you up to at the moment? 

I’ve just finished a production with Gothic Opera and am now working towards upcoming engagements as part of my Stoller Hall Emerging Artist residency.  

What do you feel you might gain from this experience with ERSO?

As a recent graduate, this scheme will be an excellent support and will provide me with a brilliant performance opportunity and industry contacts. I’m so excited to be studying a dream role of mine. 

A great day of 2 halves yesterday kicking off our exiting new project “Open your eyes to opera” where we’ll present Ravel’s L’Heure Espagnole – a morning piano rehearsal with our amazing cast followed by a full orchestra session!

Left to right: Dominic Felts, Jack Dolan, Guy Beynon, Phoebe Rayner and Michael Temporal Darrell

ERSO is one of London’s leading and longest established amateur orchestras.  We work to a very high standard under the baton of Principal Conductor Christopher Stark, best known as Principal Conductor of RPS Award-winning Multi-Story Orchestra and for his extensive work in opera which has included Oper Köln, Glyndebourne Festival and Tour, Garsington, and English Touring Opera. 

In spring 2024 our Open your eyes to Opera project will provide opportunities for emerging opera singers to rehearse and perform with a full-sized orchestra and an experienced opera conductor in a concert presentation of Ravel’s L’Heure Espagnole.

Unfortunately, we have not managed to find a suitable tenor for the key role of  Gonzalve and are keen to hear from singers who might be right for this part.  We are offering a modest fee to the cast.

The cast members would ideally be available for all of the following dates (all at Camden School for Girls unless otherwise specified):

• Piano rehearsal with principal conductor and Assistant Conductor 10am-1pm January 21
• February 18^th, 2-5pm rehearsal with orchestra and singer
• March 3^rd 10am-1pm rehearsal with orchestra and singers
• March 10^th 2-5pm rehearsal with orchestra and singers
• March 17^th 2.30 – 5.30pm rehearsal, concert 6,30pm at St John’s Waterloo

Anyone interested in the role should send a CV highlighting relevant experience and a video of up to 10 minutes (ideally French 20th century music if available) to ersoinfo@gmail.com.  Our conductor Chris Stark may want to meet or hold a short Zoom discussion with some candidates.

At ERSO we are thrilled to be performing Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C with talented young cellist Adam Cubitt.

Born and raised in Stoke-by-Nayland; Adam completed his last year at Chetham’s School of Music in July 2021, when he was awarded the prize for Outstanding Progress in Cello Playing, in addition to receiving the prestigious Boutflower Watch for his contributions to the school. He currently studies with Professor Josephine Knight at the Royal Academy of Music. Recent awards include the Audience Prize and the Ensemble Prize at the Essex Young Musician Competition 2023, as well as First Prize in the Harold Craxton Chamber Music Competition at the Royal Academy of Music (2023). Adam has participated in masterclasses with cellists such as Sung-Won Yang, Troels Svane, Gregor Horsch, Hannah Roberts and Mario Brunello. He plays on a Robin Aitchison cello, which was made for him in 2016.

We caught up with Adam to ask a bit more….

What made you choose to play your instrument and how old were you when you started?

When I was about four years old, I started to notice the cello while listening to BBC Radio 3, and began asking my mother for cello lessons; I started playing the cello when I was 4 ½ years old.

What made you choose the concerto that your will be playing?

Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C is one of our great works. I love it for its expressive power; it is lyrical, tender, and passionate.

What do you feel you will gain from playing your concerto with ERSO and Chris Stark?

To play Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C with ERSO and Chris Stark would be a great honour. It would be my first time playing it with an orchestra, so it would be wonderful to perform this music as it was meant to be played!

ERSO is recruiting for a new, highly experienced Principal Horn. 

ERSO is one of London’s leading and longest established amateur orchestras, playing to a very high standard.  Our Principal Conductor Christopher Stark is best known as co-founder and Principal Conductor of the RPS Award-winning Multi-Story Orchestra with whom he made his critically acclaimed BBC Proms debut in 2016.   We have a highly experienced professional leader, John Crawford, a Professor at Trinity Laban and former member of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and our string sections are led by talented young professionals.

We rehearse on Sundays in Camden and present a series of five concerts each year, always on Sundays, which combine high quality performance with an approachable style of presentation.  Recent and imminent repertoire includes Debussy La Mer; Brahms 4; Schubert 9; Sibelius 6; Walton 1; Shostakovich 10 and Ravel’s L’Heure Espagnol.

ERSO has a long history working with children and emerging professional musicians.  Two events each year are dedicated to working with Camden children and our ERSO Talent Programme  provides multiple opportunities for young professionals each season.

Our ideal candidate is an excellent, enthusiastic, experienced musician who would be interested in being part of our team of wind principals for at least a couple of years.   The role also involves leading and developing a strong and stable horn section.  As we are an amateur orchestra this is an unpaid role.

The schedule can be accessed to give an idea of our rehearsal pattern: Rehearsal schedule – ERSO

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As this is such a critical role for the orchestra, we plan to create a shortlist of really strong, keen players who will then each have a chance to spend some time in the role so that we can find the right fit for this position.

If you are interested please send us a short CV highlighting relevant orchestral experience to ersoinfo@gmail.com

Our Mendelssohn and Sibelius summer concert was such a great evening! Our wonderful soloist Youngjune Lee gave a bravura performance of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto which was thunderously applauded (and cheered) by our appreciative audience.
The evening opened with Louise Farrenc Overture 2, expertly conducted by Assistant Conductor Olivia Tait who also led the orchestra in the short excerpts of Sibelius 6 accompanied by expert – and amusing – commentary from conductor Christopher Stark. The evening concluded with a full performance of the symphony which was clearly greatly enjoyed by our lovely audience.

June Lee is a South Korean violinist currently based in London. She is studying for her Artist Diploma at the Royal College of Music, where she is a Jacqueline Ward Award Holder and a student of Professor Itzhak Rashkovsky. She completed her Master of Performance degree from the same institution with Distinction.

June has performed as a soloist with various orchestras including the KBS Symphony Orchestra, Romania Bacau Philharmonic Orchestra, and the KNUA Symphony Orchestra, Joy of Strings, The Bridge Ensemble. She has also showcased her talent on international stages, performing the ‘Work’ as a violin soloist for the Kim Yong-geol Dance Theater at the Kennedy Centre in Washington D.C. She has been a member of Joy of Strings since 2007, participating in a recording titled “Slavic Sketches” published by Universal Music and performing with them in Europe, Belgium and Japan.

June has performed in various concerts, such as LSO St. Luke’s, KCC House Concert, St John’s Smith Square Crypt Classics, St Mary le Strand, and the Bloomsbury Festival. She has extensive experience as an orchestral player in London, having led the RCM Symphony Orchestra and also being selected for the London Symphony Orchestra string experience scheme in 21/22. She has also worked on a freelance basis with orchestras such as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

In 2023, June was selected for the soloist of the year by Ernest Read Symphony Orchestra.

Talented young cellist Adam impressed our audition panel with his elegant performance of Haydn’s Concerto in C. We caught up with him to find out more…

What is your main occupation at the moment?

I am an undergraduate student at the Royal Academy of Music under Professor Josephine Knight.

What made you choose to play your instrument and how old were you when you started?

When I was about four years old, I started to notice the cello while listening to BBC Radio 3, and began asking my mother for cello lessons; I started playing the cello when I was 4 ½ years old.

What made you choose the concerto that your will be playing?

Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C is one of our great works. I love it for its expressive power; it is lyrical, tender, and passionate.

What do you feel you would gain from the experience of winning this competition and playing your concerto with ERSO and Chris Stark?

To win this competition and play Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C with ERSO and Chris Stark would be a great honour. It would be my first time playing it with an orchestra, so it would be wonderful to perform this music as it was meant to be played!

Our audition panel had a great time listening to June performing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto on March 5th!

June is studying at the Royal College of Music. She began playing the violin at age 5, following the lead of one of her friends.

We asked he what winning would mean and June told us: “If I was to be the soloist of the year, it would be my first concert with an orchestra in UK and the last concert I play before I graduate. I am pretty sure it would be a wonderful concert to be playing this special piece with ERSO.”