Bach St. Matthew Passion

Simon Berridge

Simon Berridge was born in Hertfordshire. He began his music studies at Cambridge University where he was also awarded a choral scholarship to Trinity College. He subsequently continued his vocal studies at the Royal College of Music with Edward Brooks.

Simon is a highly experienced concert singer and has performed as a soloist with many world renowned ensembles including The Sixteen, the Taverner Consort, and Les Arts Florissants. He has been involved in numerous recordings. Notable solo performances have included Messiah in Barcelona with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Monteverdi's Vespers at the BBC Proms and Edinburgh Festival with the Taverner Consort, Bach's Magnificat in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Handel's Israel in Egypt in the Covent Garden Festival with the Sixteen and the St Matthew Passion in the London Handel Festival.

He has recently performed in the festival of Accademia delle Crete Senesi in Tuscany with Collegium Vocale of Gent under the direction of Phillipe Herrweghe, and as the Evangelist in the St John Passion with the Municipal Orchestra of Madrid broadcast live on national radio from the National Auditorium. Other recent performances include the Mostly Mozart festival at the Barbican with The Sixteen and City of London Sinfonia, and Israel in Egypt in the Canary Islands and in the Handel in Oxford series.

Simon has also made many recordings with The Sixteen, and recently recorded music by Pelham Humfrey and contemporaries for the Coro label.

Simon's operatic roles include Sandy in Peter Maxwell Davies's The Lighthouse, the Madwoman in Benjamin Britten's Curlew River, and the auctioneer in The Rake's Progress.

Future concerts include performances in Italy, Germany, Belgium and France with the soloists of Collegium Vocale of Gent, concerts with The Sixteen in their Choral Pilgrimage and at the South Bank Centre, and Evangelist in the St Matthew Passion in Malvern and Cambridge.

January 2008

Katherine Hambridge

Katherine Hambridge is Assistant Director of Music at Girton College, and shortly must decide whether her future lies in organ, voice, conducting, academia or telesales. As a singer she has enjoyed working with a variety of ensembles (Cambridge University Chamber Choir, the Sagittarian Consort, the Cambridge Beethoven Singers, The Larks Ascending) and in productions of Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress and Rameau's Les Incas ou Peru. Increasingly, Katherine is giving solo recitals and performances and feels a particular affinity with the repertoire of the German masters, most obsessively Bach and Schumann, and in 2005 and 2006 she performed around Stuttgart as vocal soloist (and also choral director) with the Cambridge Vokalsolisten in programmes of baroque music. She has sung as mezzo-soprano soloist for choral socieities in East Anglia and London in works such as Handel's Messiah, Vivaldi's Gloria and Haydn's Nelsonmesse. Katherine has studied with David Lowe and Helen Groves and currently learns with Ghislaine Morgan.

Ashley Riches

Ashley Riches is a second year undergraduate studying English at King's College. He is a member of King's College Chapel Choir, and has performed in national and international television and radio broadcasts, and recently has toured Brazil, South Korea and Singapore. He played the role of the Don Giovanni in the most recent Cambridge University Opera Society production, following his performance as the Father in Hansel and Gretel last year.  As a soloist he has performed works such as Bach's Magnificat and St Matthew Passion, Haydn’s Creation and Duruflé’s Requiem.  He has given many solo recitals, performing cycles including Brahms' Vier Ernste Gesange, Schumann's Dichterliebe and Finzi’s Earth and Air and Rain.

Ruth Jenkins

Ruth Jenkins is in her final year studying Land Economy at Jesus College where she sings as a choral scholar in the chapel choir. In her first year at Cambridge she gave a solo recital at Kettles Yard and participated in the CUOS 2006 production of 'The Marriage of Figaro' as a member of the chorus whilst understudying the role of Susanna. She also sang in a Radio 3 broadcast of Jesus College Choir. In her second year Ruth played the role of 'Gretel' in the CUOS 2007 production of Humperdinck's 'Hansel and Gretel', sang the part of 'The Queen' in Handel's 'Solomon' and sang soprano solo in a concert of Purcell by the 'Collegium Laureatum' Choir. This year she has played 'Therese' in Poulenc's opera 'Les Mamelles de Tiresias', has soloed for 'The Harlow Chorus' and has sang soprano solo in Mozart's 'C Minor Mass'. Most recently she has played 'Donna Anna' in the CUOS 2008 production of Mozart's 'Don Giovanni'. Ruth currently takes singing lessons from David Lowe and has just been offered a scholarship to The Royal Academy of Music to start in September, for which she is actively seeking sponsorship.

Lucy Roberts

Lucy Roberts is in her final year reading Music at Homerton College. Since coming to Cambridge she has sung with the choirs of Clare College and Gonville & Caius College, undertaking international tours with both and recording for Naxos with Clare. In her first year she sang in the opera choruses of the CUOS 2006 productions of The Marriage of Figaro and Venus and Adonis (John Blow), and was a member of the University Chamber Choir. In 2007 she performed the title role of Hansel (Humperdinck: Hansel and Gretel) in the CUOS main show, and the roles of the Courtesan and First Woman in the contemporary May Week Opera Three Portraits of Nero. She was also a chorus member in the Cambridge Handel Opera Group’s performance of Imeneo. This academic year she sang the soprano solo in Mahler’s Second Symphony, with the Cambridge Master Players, and most recently played to role of Zerlina in the CUOS 2008 production of ‘Don Giovanni’. She has given solo recitals of French mélodie and English lute song in Cambridge, and has sung in concerts with English Voices, The Choir of London, The Charpentier Consort, The Dmitri Ensemble, CUCO and The Cambridge Beethoven Singers. Lucy currently studies with Ashley Stafford.

Lucy Goddard

Lucy held a choral scholarship at Girton College, Cambridge where she studied Italian and French. She is an experienced violinist and was a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. Lucy spent a year studying at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole and played in the Italian National Youth Orchestra (Orchestra Giovanile Italiana), whilst also studying at the Universita' di Firenze. Having been an exhibitioner at the Junior Department of the Royal Academy of Music, she went on to hold an Instrumental Award on the violin at Cambridge. She is currently a member of Trinity College Chapel Choir and works in the vocal department of Hazard Chase. Lucy has performed many solo recitals including Elgar's Sea Pictures, Pergolesi's Stabat Mater, and songs by Faure, Brahms and Berlioz; she studies with David Lowe and Ashley Stafford.

Gareth John

Gareth John graduated in Geography last year from St John's College, where he was a choral scholar for 3 years under David Hill. This year, he continues to sing with the choir as a Lay Clerk. He has recently been appointed as Musical Director of the Gentlemen of St John's. As a soloist, Gareth has performed around Cambridge and London including the Sagittarian Consort's John Passion, Collegium Laureatum's Mozart and Haydn Requiems in West Road Concert Hall, and excerpts from the Messiah in St Martin in the Fields. Gareth has performed in productions of Macbeth and Cav and Pag with with London-based opera company, Riverside Opera. Last term, Gareth played the Gendarme in the CUOS production of Poulenc's Les Mamelles de Tiresias and performed Schumann's Dichterliebe as part of the SJCMS recital series. He is currently playing Eliab in the Samuel Hogarth's new opera, David and Goliath. Other performances this term include a recital of Jongen songs in St John's College Chapel (with Sam Furness), Faure's Requiem in West Road Concert Hall and Christus in Jesus College Choir's upcoming performance of Bach's St John Passion. He studies singing with David Lowe.

Sam Furness

Sam was born in Cardiff in 1986. He was a chorister and Dean's scholar at Llandaff Cathedral before going to Charterhouse school as a music and academic scholar in 1999. While at Charterhouse he joined the National Youth Choir of Great Britain, with which he has done several tours to Australasia and Europe. He is also a member of Laudibus, the National Youth Chamber Choir. Sam arrived in Cambridge in 2005 having won a choral scholarship to St Johns college. Sam has accepted a layclerkship to stay and sing in St Johns college next year, following which he hopes to attend music college with a view to a career in opera. Sam has sung numerous oratorios in and around Cambridge, including the Mozart Requiem and Britten's St Nicholas. At the moment Sam is singing the part of Abinadab in Sam Hogarth's opera "David and Goliath" which is to be performed in Queen's college chapel on the 13th, 15th and 16th of this month. Sam's other interests include Drum and Bass DJing, trumpet and guitar playing and travelling.

Julian Black

Julian Black recently completed a degree in Music from Christ's College and is currently studying in Cambridge for a Bachelor of Music. He attended the Royal College of Music Junior Department for four years, and was a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain on the French horn from 2002-2005, performing under such conductors as Sir Roger Norrington, Marin Alsop and Sir Simon Rattle.

On coming to Cambridge, Julian received an Instrumental Award on the French Horn. He took up conducting at the end of his first year, conducting Beethoven's First Symphony and Ravel's Ma Mère L'Oye Suite in February 2005. Further concerts included Vaughan Williams' Fifth Symphony in Michaelmas Term 2005 and Wagner's Overture to Parsifal, Milhaud's Le Boeuf sur le Toit and Rachmaninov's Second Symphony in Lent Term 2006. During this time, he received conducting lessons from Peter Stark and a conducting masterclass from Martyn Brabbins, as well as attending the Canford Conducting Summer School. He currently takes occasional lessons from Sir Colin Davis.

Julian's largest project, spanning a year and a half in preparation, was to put on a fully staged production of Engelbert Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel with orchestra in West Road Concert Hall, which ran for four performances in February 2007. He also conducted the world première of an opera by Ed Nesbit, The Burning of Rome, in the CUOS 2007 May-Week Production. Other projects included a performance of Handel's Messiah with Christ's College Music Society and the Cambridge University Baroque Ensemble (CU3E) in Great St. Mary's Church, Cambridge. Julian was one of the conductors for CUMS II in 2006-7, conducting them in Dvorák's Sixth Symphony and the Schumann Piano Concerto. He also works closely with Christ's College Chapel Choir, of which he is a member and whom he conducts on a regular basis in Evensong and public concerts and on international tours.

This year, Julian conducted a semi-staged performance of Poulenc's Les Mamelles de Tiresias in Great St. Mary's, as well as preparing part of Messiaen's Turangalîla Symphony with CUMS I. He recently finished a run of eight performances of The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan at the Cambridge Arts Theatre. He looks forward to conducting Mahler's First Symphony with CUSO in West Road Concert Hall and St. John's, Smith Square on 29th February and 7th March respectively. Future projects include conducting CUMS II in the Easter term, as well as putting on a production of Puccini's one-act comic opera, Gianni Schicchi, with Clare College Music Society.