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The soprano Rachel Munro, with her pianist Jia Ning Ng, have won the prestigious Northern Aldborough Festival 2025 New Voices Classical Singing Competition, which took place last night [16 June].…
The soprano Rachel Munro, with her pianist Jia Ning Ng, have won the prestigious Northern Aldborough Festival 2025 New Voices Classical Singing Competition, which took place last night [16 June].
Now in its third year, the nationwide search spanning concert halls and conservatoires has become a beacon for emerging talent, with a total £7,000 prize fund.
The semi-finals, which took place on 15 June at the Northern Aldborough Festival, saw eight vocalists whittled down to four shortlisted sopranos, accompanied by their pianists.
Nikki Martin accompanied by Esther Ersfeld, Caroline Taylor accompanied by Sebastian Issler, Rachel Munro with Jia Ning Ng, and Eiry Price with Iwan Owen on piano, went head-to-head for the £5k top prize.
Rachel and Jia Ning receive the top prize of £5,000 and a paid recital at next year’s Northern Aldborough Festival alongside recitals, also paid through a donation from the Yorkshire Music Future Fund, at Leeds Lieder and Harrogate International Festivals.
An exciting new duo, Scottish soprano Rachel and Singaporean pianist Jia Ning met during their time at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and bonded over a shared love of telling important stories through music.
They became an official performing pair in 2024 and have since been entering major UK vocal competitions, as well as collaborating within the RCS.
Jia Ning Ng is a concert pianist and collaborative pianist currently based in Glasgow, where she works as Staff Accompanist at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. In 2024, she was endorsed by Arts Council England under the Global Talent visa, recognising her as an exceptional artist in her field.
Robert Ogden, director of Northern Aldborough Festival, had a career as an operatic countertenor and also sits on the judging panel. Robert said: “Rachel and Jia Ning made a wonderful partnership. Even though she was one of the youngest entrants, Rachel already displays remarkable vocal maturity and quality and is a composed performer. She found wonderful support in Jia Ning’s musical playing.”
The competition has fast made a name in classical music thanks to the acclaimed judges it attracts.
Previous judges have included Sir John Tomlinson CBE, Dame Felicity Lott, and the principal conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner OBE.
2025’s judging panel featured arguably England’s most famous living operatic baritone, Sir Thomas Allen, the pioneering female conductor Dame Jane Glover, and pianist Sholto Kynoch.
The competition is open to UK classical vocalists aged 18 to 32.
Alongside The Seastock Trust first prize of £5,000, a second prize of £1,500 sponsored by The Yorkshire Music Fund went to soprano Nikki Martin and pianist Esther Ersfeld.
The Armitage Prize of £500, chosen by the audience went to soprano Caroline Taylor and pianist Sebastian Issler.
The New Voices Competition was launched in 2023 by Northern Aldborough Festival in response to the funding cuts the classical music sector faced, to provide a platform for emerging talent.
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’ and this year secured professional management with one of the UK’s leading agencies.
Robert said: “This year was the Competition’s biggest year. The calibre of young singers is truly exceptional. In today’s landscape of music and arts funding cuts, we see the competition as a valuable platform to support young classical singers to launch their careers, as well as to get in front of some of the industry’s leading and influential figures. It’s also a unique and unmissable chance for audiences to witness major musical stars on their ascent.”
The Northern Aldborough Festival continues until June 21, with headline acts including Dame Sarah Connolly with Dame Imogen Cooper, The Vespers (Rachmaninov) performed by Armonico Consort, headline speaker Matthew Parris, and its last night outdoor concert in the grounds of Aldborough Manor.
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Photos
To download images of the 2025 New Voices Semi-Finalists and logo, go to the drop box
To see the full list of 2025’s semi-finalists and read the Press Release, go to: 2025 Semi-Finalists Announced in Hunt for UK’s Best Classical Talent | Cause UK
The 2025 four finalists were:
The British soprano Caroline Taylor has already attracted national acclaim for her “glittering soprano” (The Times), with effusive reviews for her ‘extraordinarily beautiful’ singing. She graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music with Distinction, winning the Kennedy Strauss Award.
She’s accompanied by Sebastian Issler, the inaugural pianist-in-residence at City Music Foundation, who won the 2022 Wigmore Hall/Bollinger International Song Competition Jean Meikle Prize for Best Duo, alongside being a finalist at the International Schubert Competition in Dortmund.
A graduate of the Royal College of Music and the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, Welsh soprano Eiry Price is an Associate Artist at the Welsh National Opera. This season, she will also appear in recital with pianist James Baillieu, as part of the WNO Associate Artists’ annual showcase.
Eiry was a finalist in the Welsh Singers Showcase competition, 2024. She’s accompanied by Iwan Owen on piano. Iwan enjoys a varied career as a solo pianist, accompanist and piano teacher. He was awarded the Dorothy Parkinson Memorial Award for Young British Musicians in 2023. Iwan graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music in 2019 achieving a Master’s degree with distinction.
Nikki and Esther are both originally from Scotland. The voice and piano duo formed whilst studying at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS). They have performed in recitals and competitions, such as the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Lieder competition, and the Ashburnham English Song Competition.
Esther is a keen chamber musician and has formed a number of musical partnerships throughout her time at the Conservatoire. She has performed in masterclasses led by Scottish pianist Steven Osborne, and American pianist Andrew Armstrong.
About New Voices Singing Competition
The New Voices Singing Competition, established in 2023, is committed to discovering and nurturing exceptional classical vocalists. It provides a platform for rising stars to shine and connects them with industry professionals, agents, and music lovers worldwide.
Festival Director, Robert Ogden
Artistic Director of the festival is Robert Ogden. Robert runs his family’s flagship jewellery store in Harrogate, which James Roberts (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.
Northern Aldborough Festival
The Northern Aldborough Festival was founded 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. The patron of the festival is Dame Judi Dench.
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2025’s Festival: June 12-June 21
2025 marks the 31st year of the Northern Aldborough Festival, which sees remarkable talent from around the globe gather for ten glorious days, from 12-21 June in the picturesque village, just half an hour from York or Harrogate.
Audiences can experience concerts in a village church normally the preserve of up-scale concert halls in New York, London, and Europe.
The line-up includes the mezzo soprano Dame Sarah Connolly with Dame Imogen Cooper as a headline act. 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.
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 read the press release on the 2025 Festival line-up, click HERE.