The 2026 winners of the prestigious Northern Aldborough Festival New Voices Singing Competition have been crowned as countertenor Tom Lilburn and his accompanist Jack Redman.
Now in its fourth year, the nationwide search spanning concert halls and conservatoires has become a showcase of the hottest rising stars, with a £7,000 prize fund.
Open to UK classical vocalists, aged 18-32, eight shortlisted singers went head-to-head in live semi-finals, which took part on 22 June during the Northern Aldborough Festival.
Four semi-finalists were chosen by the judging panel to compete in the grand final on 23 June, which took place at 7pm, hosted in the historic St Andrew’s Church in Aldborough near York.
They were Harrison Robb (baritone) with Catriona Mackenzie (piano); Archie Inns (tenor) with Daniel Silcock (piano); Elisabeth Lee (soprano) with Alfonso Sanchez Perez, and Tom Lilburn (counter-tenor) with Jack Redman (piano).
The winners Tom and Jack, received the Seastock Trust Prize of £5k.
Tom Lilburn is an English countertenor, Opera Prelude Young Artist 2025, and Lay Clerk at St George’s Chapel, Windsor. A Royal College of Music graduate, he performs widely in opera and oratorio and sang at Prince Philip’s 2021 funeral.
Jack Redman is a British pianist, organist, composer and singer, specialising in song and chamber music accompaniment. He has worked with Glyndebourne, The Sixteen and the OAE, and his compositions and arrangements have been featured by the Oxford International Song Festival and BBC Radio.
The second prize – The Yorkshire Music Future Fund Prize of £1500 – went to baritone Harrison Robb and pianist Catriona Mackenzie.
Third prize, the £500 Armitage Prize, chosen by the audience also went to Harrison and Catriona.
Selected finalists are also offered paid recitals at Harrogate International Festival and Leeds Song Festival.
The panel of distinguished judges this year were the former musical director of Opera North, Paul Daniel CBE, the acclaimed soprano Carolyn Sampson OBE, and the accompanist Anna Tilbrook, alongside festival director, Robert Ogden, and festival chair, Sir Andrew Lawson-Tancred.
The competition has fast become a fixture on the classical music calendar, thanks to its distinguished judges who, in previous years, have included Sir John Tomlinson CBE, Dame Felicity Lott, Sir Thomas Allen, Dame Jane Glover and Edward Gardner OBE.
The New Voices Competition was launched in 2023 by Northern Aldborough Festival in response to funding cuts in the music sector, to provide a platform for emerging talent.
The inaugural winner was the mezzo-soprano Lea Shaw, who was consequently picked as a BBC Music Magazine ‘Rising Star.’ Last year, the festival helped Lea secure professional management with one of the UK’s leading agencies.
2025’s winner, the Scottish soprano Rachel Munro and pianist Jia Ning Ng, also performed their winning recital at the festival.
Each June, Northern Aldborough Festival welcomes world-class acts to the beautiful North Yorkshire village.
Now in its 32nd year, 2026’s festival continues until 27 June, with highlights including the Wild Arts opera company with Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro in a production by Danielle de Niese, an evening with the festival’s guest speaker, the legendary broadcaster John Humphreys, and renowned pianist Lucy Parham with actress Joanna David telling the extraordinary life of Clara Schumann.
The festival closes on 27 June with the last night outdoor concert, in the grounds of Aldborough Manor. Festival goers are invited to pack a picnic for Oasis tribute band, Definitely Oasis. The night closes with a spectacular orchestrated firework display.
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.
Tickets https://aldboroughfestival.co.uk/
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
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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.
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.
For high-res images of festival acts for press use, go to this dropbox.
Festival Director, Robert Ogden
Artistic Director of the festival is Robert Ogden. Until recently Robert ran 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 in opera houses and concert halls around the world. In January 2026 he took up the role of Chief Executive of The Temple Music Foundation.
The 2026 Semi-finalists in full were:
Madeline Robinson (soprano) with Benjamin Markovic (piano)
Madeline graduated from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and Guildhall School of Music and recently made her debut at the Royal Ballet and Opera. Benjamin is in his final year of Masters study at the Royal Academy of Music.
Harrison Robb (baritone) with Catriona Mackenzie (piano)
Baritone Harrison Robb is at the Royal Academy Opera School. He began working with Catriona in 2024, receiving Audience Prizes at both The Ashburnham and The Dean and Chadlington Song Awards. Catriona is studying at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
Elisabeth Lee (soprano) with Alfonso Sánchez Pérez (piano)
Soprano Elisabeth Lee studied in Seoul and Berlin and performs across Europe. Spanish pianist and conductor Alfonso studied at Dublin and Linz. Both are Young Artists at the National Opera Studio, London.
Kira Kaplan (soprano) with Catriona Mackenzie (piano)
American soprano Kira is a UK resident, and emerging artist with Scottish Opera. She was a Global Talent Young Artist with the National Opera Studio, and has won the prestigious Career Bridges Grant Competition.
Tom Lilburn (counter-tenor) with Jack Redman (piano)
Countertenor Tom Lilburn is a graduate of the University of Cambridge and The Royal College of Music, and is a Lay Clerk at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. He sang at the funeral of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. Pianist Jack Redman has performed at Glyndebourne Festival Opera and prestigious venues across the UK.
Archie Inns (tenor) with Daniel Silcock (piano)
Scottish tenor Archie Inns works across opera, oratorio, song, and consort work, and is a Fellow with The English Concert. An Emerging Artist with Westminster Opera Company and Associate Artist with Oxford Opera, he’s studying at the Royal College of Music.
Scottish pianist Daniel Silcock is a graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and a 2025 Britten-Pears Artist.
Grace Hope-Gill (soprano) with Daniel Silcock (piano)
Welsh soprano Grace Hope-Gill is at the Royal Academy Opera at the Royal Academy of Music as a bicentenary scholar. Recent successes include, winning the John Fussell Award for Young Musicians and Elena Gerhardt prize, and travelling to Munich with the Elton John Global Exchange scholarship.
Pianist Daniel Silcock is on the Song Circle and Academy Voices fellowship at the Royal Academy of Music.
Camilla Seale (mezzo-soprano) with Jonatan Bought (lute)
Lyric mezzo soprano Camilla Seale is also an actor with an extensive background in opera, theatre and baroque repertoire. She studied at the Royal Northern College of Music, and was a Young Artist at the National Opera Studio Global Talent Programme and was a Britten-Pears Artist.
Swedish musician Jonatan Bougt studied at the Royal College of Music. A multi-award winner, performances include the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall.