Suzanne McGrath

Suzanne is in her final year of studying for an honours degree in Music at the University of Edinburgh. She takes a lively part in the wealth of musical activity available in Edinburgh, most recently through Edinburgh Studio Opera where in Opera Scenes this November she has played the Countess (The Marriage of Figaro) and Marschallin (Der Rosenkavalier) with musical director Susannah Wapshott and director Antonia Alonzo. Highlights of solo performances in concert have been Bach’s B Minor Mass for the Dunedin Consort with conductor John Butt, Mahler’s 2nd Symphony, Benjamin Britten’s In The World of The Spirit with orchestras of Edinburgh University, Soloist in Brahms' Liebeslieder Walzer at St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral and in Faure's Requiem, with Edinburgh University Sinfonietta. As well as this she has performed in numerous recitals around Edinburgh and Manchester, including as a Soloist with orchestra at The Bridgewater Hall. Future performances include the role of the Fox (The Cunning Little Vixen) under musical director Jessica Cottis and director Nicholas Bone with Edinburgh Studio Opera, Berg's Sieben Frühe Lieder in recital at the Reid Concert Hall.

Suzanne has won the Tovey Memorial Prize in 2010, and will be participating in the Margaret Fletcher Award in March. Her vocal studies have been generously supported by the Friends of St. Cecilia’s and Clutterbuck Scholarships.

During Suzanne’s third year of university she chose to study abroad on the Erasmus exchange programme and spent the year studying musicology at Milano Statale in Italy. This fantastic experience, from which she gained fluency in Italian, also enabled her to study voice with Margaret Hayward, of the Milanese Conservatoire as well as vocal coach at La Scala. Whilst in Italy she worked with Colin Baldy of Hand Made Opera for whom she performed the role of Serpetta (La Finta Giardiniera) in Scheggino, Italy with conductor Matthew Halls. She also received coaching from Nicholas Cleobury and Nicoletta Conti.

In master classes Suzanne has been coached by Arlene Rolph, Susan McCulloch, Robin Bowman, Elaine Kidd and Adrian Thompson. She currently studies voice with Patricia MacMahon and Eric Ibler, and is hoping to gain more stage experience whilst studying varied repertoire and auditioning for music colleges in the UK and on the continent.

Before deciding to study music, Suzanne was an accomplished dancer, accepted to study the performance degree course at LABAN, London.

Please see the 'Résumé' page of this site for more details of Suzanne's past and forthcoming performances.