Gethin Lewis

With the support of the James Pantyfedwen Foundation, I have spent the last year studying a postgraduate course in the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London. I received my first degree at the Guildhall in 2014, and spent a few years as a classical singer, working with opera companies such as Glyndebourne, The Grange Festival, Buxton Festival and Opra Cymru. I was aware however that I did need more regular lessons to develop the voice and decided to return to the Guildhall to study a Masters course, which provides the opportunity to concentrate on vocal technique, languages, stage presence and experiences of performing various opera pieces.

It has been a busy year at the Guildhall and I’m pleased with my development. With the help of my singing teacher, Marilyn Rees, as well as the Alexander Technique and language therapy teacher, I feel that many aspects of my vocal training have improved immensely. I contributed to many interesting and worthwhile projects during the year, had the opportunity of working with many specialists, performed works by Schumann, Mendelssohn and Brahms with the pianist Eugene Asti, the Liebeslieder Walzer by Brahms with Julius Drake and Stacey Bartsch, and songs by Fauré and Hahn with Iain Burnside. I also performed many opera scenes and played many characters in operas by Mozart.

It was certainly a valuable year, which became possible due to the generous grant of the James Pantyfedwen Foundation. I hope that the hard work in the Guildhall during this last year will provide a strong base for further development as a professional singer. I shall once again be joining the Glyndebourne opera company in the autumn, travelling to many theatres in England with the opera Rigoletto by Verdi and L’elisir d’amore by Donizetti.