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A nationwide hunt is now on for the best UK classical vocal talent of 2025. Hosted by the prestigious Northern Aldborough Festival in North Yorkshire, with a judging panel consisting…
A nationwide hunt is now on for the best UK classical vocal talent of 2025. Hosted by the prestigious Northern Aldborough Festival in North Yorkshire, with a judging panel consisting of some of the most esteemed figures in classical music, the New Voices Singing Competition is now in its third year.
Cause UK Public Relation has been providing PR services to this esteemed classical music festival for several years. See a typical media coverage book here.
2025’s judging panel features arguably England’s most famous living operatic baritone, Sir Thomas Allen, the pioneering female conductor Dame Jane Glover, and pianist Sholto Kynoch. They’re joined by the artistic director of the Northern Aldborough Festival, a former professional counter tenor, Robert Ogden.
The New Voices Singing Competition is open to soloists, duos, and ensembles of up to eight participants with a focus on singing. Participants must be aged from 18 to 32 to enter and be UK or Irish residents or nationals. Deadline for entries is Friday 18 April, 2025.
The competition has built a remarkable reputation in just three years, thanks to the pedigree of its judging panels, which in previous years have featured Sir John Tomlinson CBE, Dame Felicity Lott, and the principal conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner OBE.
The New Voices Competition was launched in 2023 in response to the funding cuts the classical music sector faced, to provide a platform for emerging talent.
Robert Ogden said: “It’s set to be the biggest year for the nationwide New Voices Singing Competition, with cash prizes of £7,000 and high-profile performance opportunities to be won. In today’s landscape of music and arts funding cuts, we see this as a valuable platform to support young classical singers to launch their careers, as well as get in front of some of the industry’s leading and influential figures.”
Winners get the chance to perform at next year’s Northern Aldborough Festival alongside paid recitals, funded by the Yorkshire Music Future Fund, at Leeds Lieder and Harrogate International Festivals.
Founded in 2004, Leeds Lieder is now recognised internationally as one of the leading organisations devoted to art-song. Leeds Lieder has built a reputation for musical excellence with its artistic programme, and for featuring new and emerging talent alongside established artists.
Established in 1966, Harrogate International Festivals is an artistic force and key cultural provider for the North of England. Alongside celebrating world-renowned artists, it champions up-and-coming talent across the Arts, alongside running an ongoing education and outreach programme.
The inaugural winner of the New Voices Competition was the mezzo-soprano Lea Shaw, who was consequently picked as a BBC Music Magazine ‘Rising Star.’
2024’s winner was mezzo-soprano Judith Le Breuilly, with George Ireland on piano. The pair will perform the winning recital at this summer’s Northern Aldborough Festival.
Now in its 31st year, 2025’s Northern Aldborough Festival welcomes the mezzo soprano Dame Sarah Connolly with Dame Imogen Cooper as a headline act. The 2025 festival theme is a celebration of the artistry and power of the human voice, centred on its annual nationwide hunt for the UK’s best classical singing talent.
Also performing this summer, fresh from their Proms debut, is the Fantasia Orchestra with violinist Tamsin Waley-Cohen, the leading jazz vocalist Jacqui Dankworth, and one of the UK’s most exciting opera companies, Wild Arts, will perform Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love. This year’s guest speaker is the respected journalist, Matthew Parris.
Successful applicants to the competition will be notified in the spring. They will then be invited to perform at a live semi-finals and grand final which take place during the festival (12 to 21 June).
Aldborough is a picturesque Roman village, just half an hour from York or Harrogate, and its festival has become a leading fixture on the classical music calendar. Its patron is Dame Judi Dench.
To find out more and to apply visit New Voices Singing Competition 2024 | The Northern Aldborough Festival
ENDS
Notes to the editor:
For further media info, contact Ann Chadwick, ann@causeuk.com M: 07534892715.
About Northern Aldborough Festival
The Northern Aldborough Festival was born in 1994, centred around the picturesque village of Aldborough near York. It was described by the Times as ‘well on its way to being one of the leading fixtures on the classical music calendar.’ Its core aim is to bring exceptional music to new audiences, in intimate rural locations where it would not normally be heard. With musical talent sourced from all over the world, the festival offers audiences a consistently high standard of music.
https://aldboroughfestival.co.uk
About Festival Director, Robert Ogden
Artistic Director of the festival is Robert Ogden. Robert runs his family’s flagship jewellery store in Harrogate, which James Robert (JR) Ogden founded in 1893. Before taking on Ogden of Harrogate, Robert sang all over the world. As a boy, he was a chorister at Westminster Cathedral, before training at King’s College, Cambridge, the Royal Northern College of Music and at the Netherlands Opera Studio. An operatic countertenor, he performed to critical acclaim all over the world.
About 2025’s Festival
When: 12 – 21 June 2025
Location: The north Yorkshire village, Aldborough, near York.
Now in its 31st year, the Northern Aldborough Festival is hosted in the picturesque rural north Yorkshire village of Aldborough near York.
A charity, the festival’s mission is to bring high-end live music to a rural location.
Aldborough is small but mighty. A once prosperous Roman capital, the bucolic village is now an unlikely epicentre for classical music. Nestled in quintessential countryside, audiences can step into Aldborough’s ancient 14th century village church and experience intimate concerts normally reserved for the cosmopolitan global stage.
Highlights in 2025 include two musical Dames: the mezzo soprano Dame Sarah Connolly with Dame Imogen Cooper on piano; fresh from their Proms debut, the Fantasia Orchestra; leading jazz vocalist Jacqui Dankworth, and one of the UK’s most exciting opera companies, Wild Arts, performs Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love. This year’s headline speaker is the respected journalist, Matthew Parris.
2025 sees the festival celebrate the artistry and power of the human voice, centred on its annual nationwide hunt for the UK’s best classical singing talent with its New Voices Singing Competition, with a star-studded judging panel.
2025’s theme is a celebration of the power of the human voice.
Highlights include:
Aldborough’s late-night venue ‘The Shed’ also returns for concert goers who want to continue festivities after the evening concerts in a relaxed environment, with a variety of live entertainment and refreshments.
The popular Last Night Outdoor Concert, set in the grounds of Aldborough Manor, features a leading pop act who will perform to circa 1,000 festival-goers. Audiences are invited to bring a picnic and dance the night away, ending with a spectacular orchestrated firework display.