Juliette Louise B. Pochin (born 1971) is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

classically trained

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

singer, composer/arranger, and record producer. She is known not only for her performances in operas and as a classical recitalist but also for her recordings of operatically styled

crossover music Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers who appeal to different types of audiences. This can be seen, for example, when a song appears on two or more of the record charts, which track differing musical styles or genres. I ...

. Morgan Pochin Music Productions Ltd, the company she formed with her husband James Morgan, is known for its record productions for artists such as

Katherine Jenkins Katherine Jenkins (born 29 June 1980) is a Welsh singer. She is a mezzo-soprano and performs operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre, and hymns.Alfie Boe Alfred Giovanni Roncalli Boe (born 29 September 1973) is an English actor and singer who performs primarily in musical theatre. Boe is best known for his performances as Jean Valjean in the musical ''Les Misérables'' at the Queen's Theatre ...

, as well as its arrangements for film and television scores.

Biography and career

Born in

Haverfordwest Haverfordwest ( , ; ) is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales, and the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire with a population of 14,596 in 2011. It is also a Community (Wales), community consisting of 12,042 people, making it the secon ...

, Pochin attended the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

(Junior Academy). She went on to read music at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

as a choral scholar and also trained at the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music school, music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz al ...

.Monk, Judith
Judith Monk spends time with Juliette Pochin, the mezzo-soprano with a "smooth and chocolaty" voice
''

Musical Opinion ''Musical Opinion'', often abbreviated to ''MO'', is a European classical music magazine edited and produced in the UK. It is currently among the oldest such periodicals to be still publishing in the UK, having been continuously in publication ...

'', 1 January 2007. Accessed via subscription 15 May 2010 In 2005 she was signed by

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

to record her debut album, ''Venezia,'' released in 2006 as Classic FM's "Record of the Week". Five months after the album's release, the British owned chocolatiers,

Hotel Chocolat Hotel Chocolat Group is a British chocolate manufacturer and cocoa grower. It produces and distributes chocolate and other cocoa related products online and through a network of cafés, restaurants, outlets and factory stores. By 2023, it ha ...

introduced a new chocolate range named for her, inspired by a description of her voice in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' as "sounding like melted chocolate". She was the soloist for 3 years at the televised BB
Proms in the Park from Salford
Pochin is married to the conductor and composer, James Morgan. The couple met at Cambridge University and first worked together composing for the

Footlights The Cambridge Footlights, commonly referred to simply as Footlights, is a student sketch comedy troupe located in Cambridge, England. Footlights was founded in 1883, and is one of Britain's oldest student sketch comedy troupes. The comedy so ...

. They went on to form Morgan Pochin Music Productions Ltd. She is a regular orchestrator and musical director for BBC Radio
Piano Room
Juliette's setting of

Lemn Sissay Lemn Sissay FRSL (born 21 May 1967) is a British author and broadcaster. He was the official poet of the 2012 London Olympics, was chancellor of the University of Manchester from 2015 until 2022, and joined the Foundling Museum's board of trus ...

's poem, Let There Be Peace, composed for the Brighton Festival, received its first live performance a
Cadogan Hall
in 2023. Juliette wrote her first musical cabaret show
Music, Mayhem and a Mezzo
during lockdown and is now a regular performer a
The Crazy Coqs
The Pheasantry and Edinburgh Fringe Festival where she was .

Morgan Pochin Music Productions

This music production company was founded by James Morgan and Juliette Pochin to produce recordings as well as compose original works for film and the concert platform. Record Production They have produced numerous albums that reached the Top 10 in the UK charts including: Luke Evans,

A Song for You "A Song for You" is a song written and originally recorded by rock singer and pianist Leon Russell for his first solo album ''Leon Russell'', which was released in 1970 on Shelter Records. A slow, pained plea for forgiveness and understandi ...

which reached No. 4 in the UK album charts, three studio albums for

Alfie Boe Alfred Giovanni Roncalli Boe (born 29 September 1973) is an English actor and singer who performs primarily in musical theatre. Boe is best known for his performances as Jean Valjean in the musical ''Les Misérables'' at the Queen's Theatre ...

Joe McElderry Joseph McElderry (; born 16 June 1991) is an English singer and songwriter. He won the The X Factor (British series 6), sixth series of ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor'' in 2009. His first single "The Climb (Joe McElderry song), ...

's second studio album ''Classic'' which reached No. 2 in the UK charts and 100 Vera Lynn which peaked at No. 3 in the UK Charts. Their album with the Poor Clares of Arundel, ''Light for the World'' debuted at No. 1 in the UK Classical music chart in October 2020, a position it retained for 19 weeks and reached No. 5 in the main UK Album chart. As Piano Hands, their piano duo, they released two albums fo
Rhino Records
(Warner Music) and can be regularly heard on Classic FM and Scala Radio. Film and TV In 2010, Morgan Pochin adapted

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

's music into a modern film score for British film ''First Night'' based on his opera ''

Così fan tutte (''Women are like that, or The School for Lovers''), Köchel catalogue, K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written ...

'' and starring

Richard E. Grant Richard E. Grant (born Richard Grant Esterhuysen; 5 May 1957) is an Eswatini-born English actor and presenter. He made his film debut as Withnail in the comedy '' Withnail and I'' (1987). Grant received critical acclaim for his role as Jack H ...

and

Sarah Brightman Sarah Brightman (born 14 August 1960) is an English classical crossover soprano singer and actress. Brightman began her career as a member of the dance troupe Hot Gossip and released several disco singles as a solo performer. In 1981, she made ...

. The film soundtrack album, arranged and produced by Morgan Pochin, was released on the Sony label in October 2011. In 2012 Morgan Pochin produced the music for

Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for Dustin Hoffman filmography, his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable charac ...

's first film as director, ''Quartet'' – starring

Maggie Smith Dame Margaret Natalie Smith (28 December 1934 – 27 September 2024) was a British actress. Known for her wit in both comedic and dramatic roles, she had List of Maggie Smith performances, an extensive career on stage and screen for over seve ...

Billy Connolly Sir William Connolly (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish actor, musician, television presenter, artist and retired stand-up comedian. He is sometimes known by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his idiosyncratic and of ...

Tom Courtenay Sir Thomas Daniel Courtenay (; born 25 February 1937) is an English actor. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he achieved prominence in the 1960s as part of actors of the British New Wave. Courtenay has received numerous acco ...

and

Michael Gambon Sir Michael John Gambon (; 19 October 1940 – 27 September 2023) was an Irish-English actor. Gambon started his acting career with Laurence Olivier as one of the original members of the Royal National Theatre. Over his six-decade-long career ...

. They also provided music for films including

Operation Mincemeat Operation Mincemeat was a successful British disinformation, deception operation of the Second World War to disguise the 1943 Allied invasion of Sicily. Two members of British intelligence obtained the body of Glyndwr Michael, a tramp who die ...

, The Courier, and

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is an English film director and producer. He directs films in the Science fiction film, science fiction, Crime film, crime, and historical drama, historical epic genres, with an atmospheric and highly co ...

's Killing Jesus. They have composed and arranged music for several television shows including '' The Kumars at No. 42'' Compositions They were commissioned by the

Brighton Festival Brighton Festival is a large, annual, curated multi-arts festival in England, first held in 1967. It includes music, theatre, dance, circus, art, film, literature, debate, outdoor and family events, and takes place in venues in the city of Brig ...

to compose "The Great Enormo – a Kerfuffle in B flat for orchestra, soprano and wasps"; with words by

Michael Rosen Michael Wayne Rosen (born 7 May 1946) is an English children's author, poet, presenter, political columnist, broadcaster, activist, and academic, who is a professor of children's literature in the Department of Educational Studies at Goldsmiths ...

. It premiered with Michael Rosen as narrator, James Morgan as conductor, Juliette Pochin as soprano and the

City of London Sinfonia City of London Sinfonia (CLS) is an English chamber orchestra based in London. CLS is orchestra-in-residence at Opera Holland Park since 2004 and holds a residency at St Paul's Cathedral. CLS also performs regularly across the city of London i ...

. It has since been performed by the

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) is a British orchestra based in Birmingham, England. It is the resident orchestra at Symphony Hall, Birmingham in Birmingham, which has been its principal performance venue since 1991. Its adminis ...

at the

Birmingham Symphony Hall Symphony Hall is a 2,262-seat concert venue in Birmingham, England. It was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 12 June 1991, although it had been in use since 15 April 1991. It is home to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and hos ...

, the

Southbank Centre Southbank Centre is an arts centre in London, England. It is adjacent to the separately owned National Theatre and BFI Southbank. It comprises the three main performance spaces – the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and Purcell R ...

(Imagine Festival) and it has been translated into Portuguese for performances in Porto. Their choral cantata Invictus was commissioned by Brighton Festival Chorus and performed by the City of London Sinfonia, Brighton Festival Chorus and Youth Choir, and massed children's choirs, and premiered at Brighton Dome in 2015 to mark the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta. Their choral composition ''Kubla Khan'' had its world premiere at the 2002 ^,

^{/sup>

Charity Work

In conjunction with Parkinson's UK

Parkinson's UK is a Parkinson's research and support charity in the United Kingdom. In April 2010, the Parkinson's Disease Society changed its name to become Parkinson's UK. Its aims are to improve the quality of life for people affected by Park ...
, Morgan Pochin arranged two gala fundraising concerts "Symfunny 1 & Symfunny 2 at London's Royal Albert Hall

The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272.

Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
. for which they were both awarded
Points of Light Award
at 10 Downing Street from the Prime Minister.

Recordings

As performer

*''Venezia'' (selections from Vivaldi

Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist, impresario of Baroque music and Roman Catholic priest. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lif ...
's sonnets sung to the music of his '' The Four Seasons''). Sony/BMG.Smith, David
"Four Seasons find their voice as Vivaldi sonnets are set to music"
''The Observer

''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.

In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'', 7 May 2006. Accessed 15 May 2010
*''The Sky Shall Be Our Roof'' (rare songs from the operas of Ralph Vaughan Williams

Ralph Vaughan Williams ( ; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...
) – Sarah Fox

Sarah Fox (born 19 September 1973) is an English operatic soprano who has performed at several of the world's leading opera houses, notably the Royal Opera House Covent Garden.

Fox was born in Giggleswick, Settle, West Riding of Yorkshire. She ...
(soprano), Juliette Pochin (mezzo-soprano), Andrew Staples

Andrew Staples (born 19 August 1979) is an English operatic tenor.
Education and training
Staples started as a chorister at St Paul's Cathedral and was accepted at Eton College under a musical scholarship.
Career
With The Royal Opera, Staples h ...
(tenor), Roderick Williams (baritone), Iain Burnside

Iain Burnside is a Scottish classical pianist and accompanist, and an occasional presenter on BBC Radio 3.

Following study at Merton College, Oxford, the Royal Academy of Music and the Chopin Academy, in Warsaw he became a freelance pianist, sp ...
(piano). Albion Records
*''Poetry Serenade'' (English poems set by composer Brian Knowles) – Jon Christos

Jon Christos (born John Christodoulou 23 March 1976, Salford, England) is an English singer, local radio presenter. and a member of the Professorial Staff - Vocal Studies at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.

A classically tr ...
(tenor), Nick Garrett (bass-baritone), Juliette Pochin (mezzo-soprano), Elin Manahan Thomas

Elin Manahan Thomas (born 1977) is a Welsh soprano. A specialist in Baroque music, she sang at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in May 2018.
Biography
Thomas was born in Gorseinon near Swansea, Wales, the daughter of M. Wynn Thoma ...
(soprano); City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra

The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra (Czech: ''Filharmonici města Prahy'') is a classical orchestra, predominantly composed of Czech classical, jazz and guest musicians.

The history of the orchestra goes back to the Film Symphony Orchest ...
, James Morgan (conductor). Signum records.Signum Records
Liner notes: ''Poetry Serenade''
, 2008. Accessed 19 May 2010

Morgan Pochin Discography

*''A Song For You'' - Luke Evans (BMG)
*''Alfie'' – Alfie Boe (Decca)
*''Premiere'' – Katherine Jenkins (UCJ)
*''Bring Him Home'' – Alfie Boe (Decca)
*''100:'' Dame Vera Lynn (Decca)
*''Classic'' – Joe McElderry (Decca)
*''Classic Christmas'' – Joe McElderry (Decca)
*''Someone To Watch Over Me -'' Ella Fitzgerald and the London Symphony Orchestra(Verve)
*''Act Two''. - Collabro (Syco)
*''Songs Without Words'' (Universal/Classic FM)
*''Rise'' - Sir Cliff Richard (Rhino)
*''Light for The World'' Poor Clare Sisters of Arundel (Decca)
*''Classic Rock''. (Decca)
*''Serenata'' - Alfie Boe (Decca)
*''Venezia'' – Juliette Pochin (Sony)
*''Home'' - Collabro (Peak Productions)
*''Love Like This''- Collabro (BMG)
*''Symphonies Meines Leben I, II'' – Howard Carpendale (Electrola)
*''Happy Christmas'' - Howard Carpendale (Electrola)
*''Christmas is Here'' - Collabro (Peak Productions)
*''Sleep Baby Sleep'' – Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (Classic FM)
*''Songs Without Words'' (UCJ)
*''Swimming over London'' – The Kings Singers (Signum)

References

External links

(official website)
Morgan Pochin
(official website)

on Faber Music

Faber Music is a British sheet music publisher best known for contemporary classical music. It also publishes music tutor books, and in 2005 acquired popular music publisher International Music Publications.

Faber Music has close relations with ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pochin, Juliette
Living people
British operatic mezzo-sopranos
21st-century British women opera singers
British record producers
British music arrangers
Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
People from Haverfordwest
1971 births
British women record producers}