“Miriam Allan sounded sweet but soft-voiced in Isifile’s opening number; later on she opened up dynamically, demonstrating both commanding forte and barely breathed but perfectly audible pianissimo.”

Bachtrack (December 2013)

The “sublime singing” (Gramophone, 2017) of Soprano Miriam Allan has been enjoyed across the world, most recently during the funeral of HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

The Tait Trust is delighted to present a gala concert to celebrate our return to live music in the beautiful surroundings of St Paul’s Church Knightsbridge, on Tuesday the 25th May at 12 noon.  A first for the Tait this concert will be livestreamed to our Tait Tuesdays digital audience in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

Miriam  is arguably one of the world’s leading sopranos, she is critically acclaimed for outstanding musicianship, tonal beauty and for her breathtaking technique. The “sublime singing” (Gramophone, 2017) of Soprano Miriam Allan has been enjoyed across the world, from her native Australia, through Japan and Singapore, as well as at festivals throughout Europe and North America.

Before the pandemic she sang Bach St Matthew Passion at Wigmore Hall with Dunedin Consort and John Butt, returned to Australia in the role of Josabeth (Athalia, Handel) for Pinchgut Opera, Sydney, toured books of Gesualdo Madrigals with Les Arts Florissants and made her debut with Portland Baroque performing Messiah.

A recent performance of this same work inspired the Sydney Morning Herald to write “the vocal magic of the night…she took the audience’s breath away.”

Other recent highlights have included Bach cantatas at the BBC Proms, a recital of Dowland lute songs within the enclaves of Windsor Castle and performances with the Queensland Orchestra and Erin Helyard.

Miriam is to be supported by Luke Bond, the Assistant Director of Music at St George’s Chapel, Windsor after appointments at Clifton College, The Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick and eight years as Assistant Director of Music at Truro Cathedral.

The ultimate goal of the concert is to raise a substantial sum which will be added to our Tait Emergency Relief  Fund to support young Australasian performing artists. This will be a very popular concert so book early as places are strictly limited.

Miriam Allan

The “sublime singing” (Gramophone, 2017) of Soprano Miriam Allan has been enjoyed across the world, most recently during the funeral of HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Recent performances have seen her debut with Collegium Vocale Gent and their director Philippe Herreweghe in concerts and recordings; a debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra; concerts with La Nuova Musica at London’s Wigmore Hall; reunite with Dunedin Consort for Bach’s St Matthew Passion and sing Monteverdi Vespers at Cadogan Hall.

On the opera stage she is a regular principle with Pinchgut Opera, alongside appearances at the Innsbruck Festival, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Opera Comique, Paris, and Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York as well as appearances in Mozart Opera Galas at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and Salle Pleyel, Paris.

Frequent collaborators include Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Masaaki Suzuki and William Christie, whilst she has sung with the BBC Philharmonic, Melbourne Symphony, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the Academy of Ancient Music.

Her discography includes the Gramophone award winning series of Monteverdi Madrigals and Gesualdo Madrigals with Les Arts Florissant, with whom she can also be seen in the DVD release of Orfeo, as well as Mozart Requiem with Leipzig Kammerorchester, a recital of Handel & Purcell on ABC Classics and Pinchgut Opera’s series of live recordings.

James Orford is currently the Organist in Residence at Westminster Cathedral, where he plays an important role in the weekly cycle of services as well as contributing to the life of the choir.  He previously held organ scholarships at St Paul’s Cathedral, Truro Cathedral, the Royal Hospital Chelsea, and King’s College, London.  Last summer, he graduated from the Royal Academy of Music, where he studied with David Titterington and Bine Bryndorf.  He completed his postgradute degree with distinction, having previously completed his undergraduate degree with first-class honours.  He was the recipient of the Duchess of Gloucester’s Award for Exemplary Studentship in 2019 and was awarded one of the Academy’s prestigious Bicentenary Scholarships.  

James enjoys a busy performing schedule and has given recitals and concerts in many of the UK’s most notable venues, including St Paul’s, Westminster, and Liverpool Cathedrals, several Cambridge college chapels, and the Royal Festival Hall.  He has an extensive repertoire, which includes works from all the major schools of organ repertoire and has completed many transcriptions for the organ, including Vivaldi L’estro Armonico Op. 3, Sibelius Karelia Suite Op. 11, and Howells King’s Herald.  He has recently finished recording his transcription of L’estro Armonico, which is due for release later in 2021.  He has also performed as part of the St Alban’s, Edinburgh Fringe, London Handel, and Brandenburg Festivals.  

James works extensively as a choral accompanist and has collaborated with many professional and amateur choirs.  Currently, he is the accompanist for the Thames Philharmonic Choir and the London Pr Arte Choir.  He works regularly with the London Choral Sinfonia, London Chamber Choir, The Strand Consort, The Laudate Choir, and the Sloane Square Choral Society and has also worked with many prominent conductors, including David Hill, John Rutter, Patrick Russell, and Jeremy Summerly.  Engagements as an accompanist have taken him to many venues in the UK, France, Germany, Sweden, Canada, the USA, and Nigeria.  He has played for services and concerts in such venues as the Royal Festival Hall, Chartres Cathedral, France, Neresheim Abbey, Germany, Lund Cathedral, Sweden, and Christchurch Cathedral, Montreal.  He has played for broadcasts on BBC Radio 3 and appears on two recordings with the Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, and one with King’s College, London. 

James is also an accomplished pianist, and regularly performs as both a soloist and accompanist.  He was the pianist for a six-month concert series in 2020 at St Paul’s Cathedral, which celebrated the 150th Anniversary of Louis Vierne’s birth.  He regularly performs with both instrumental and vocal soloists, most notably Susan Bullock CBE and Ian Bostridge CBE, and has won the accompanist prizes in the AESS Courtney Kenny Song Competition, the John Kerr English Song Competition, and the Marjorie Thomas Art of Song Prize.  Some other significant engagements include a performance of the Schumann Piano Concerto at Cadogan Hall and a world premiere performance of his own two piano arrangement of Seek him that maketh the seven stars by Jonathan Dove at Queen Elizabeth Hall.