Miriam Allan (born 1977, in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

Education

Miriam Allan graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree from the

University of Newcastle, Australia The University of Newcastle is a Public university#Australia, public university in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1965, it has a primary campus in the Newcastle suburb of Callaghan, New South Wales, Callaghan. The univers ...

, with first class honours and the University Medal. She received an

Australian Postgraduate Award The Australian Postgraduate Awards (APA) was a scholarship program, founded by the Australian Federal Government, designed to support postgraduate research training, which was awarded to students of "exceptional research potential". The allocation ...

from the

Australian Federal Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national Executive (government), executive government of Australia, a federalism, federal Parliamentary system, parliamentary con ...

, and completed a Master of Creative Arts (Music).

Career

Miriam Allan has appeared as a soloist with leading orchestras and choirs from all over the world. She has performed with

Monteverdi Choir The Monteverdi Choir was founded in 1964 by Sir John Eliot Gardiner for a performance of the ''Vespro della Beata Vergine'' in King's College Chapel, Cambridge. A specialist Baroque ensemble, the Choir has become famous for its stylistic conv ...

and

English Baroque Soloists The English Baroque Soloists is a chamber orchestra playing on authentic performance, period instruments, formed in 1978 by English Conducting, conductor John Eliot Gardiner, Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Its repertoire comprises music from the early B ...

, London Baroque, London Handel Orchestra (UK), Les Arts Florissants (France),

Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra The Auckland Philharmonia (formerly Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, APO) is a symphony orchestra based in Auckland, New Zealand. Its principal concert venue is the Auckland Town Hall, and it is also the accompanying ensemble for Auckland stage ...

(New Zealand), Concerto Copenhagen (Denmark), Il Fondamento (Belgium), Gewandhaus Kammerchor, Leipzig Chamber Orchestra,

Concerto Köln Concerto Köln is an ensemble specialising in music of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The group formed in 1985, one of many groups associated with the surging interest in period instruments in that decade. Its members consisted mainly ...

, ChorWerk Ruhr (Germany),

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs Sydney Philharmonia Choirs is Australia’s largest choral organisation. It presents its own annual concert series in the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Town Hall, City Recital Hall, and other venues in New South Wales, as well as serving as cho ...

Australian Chamber Orchestra The Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) is an Australian orchestra focused on chamber music based in Sydney. History The Australian Chamber Orchestra was founded by cellist John Painter in 1975.Verghis, Sharon"Bach with more bite pays off" ''T ...

, Chacona and Arcadia, Ironwood Ensemble, Queensland Orchestra and

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an Australian orchestra based in Melbourne. The MSO is resident at Hamer Hall. The MSO has its own choir, the MSO Chorus, following integration with the Melbourne Chorale in 2008. The MSO relies on fun ...

(Australia). She has worked with many directors and conductors, including Sir

John Eliot Gardiner Sir John Eliot Gardiner (born 20 April 1943) is an English conductor, particularly known for his performances of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, especially the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage of 2000, performing Church cantata (Bach), Bach's church ...

Lars Ulrik Mortensen Lars Ulrik Mortensen (born 9 November 1955) is a Danish harpsichordist and conductor, mainly of Baroque solo music, chamber music and early music repertory. He was a professor in Munich in 1996–99 and has since then been artistic director of ...

Laurence Cummings Laurence Alexander Cummings (born 1968) is a British harpsichordist, organist, and conductor. He is music director of the Academy of Ancient Music. Biography Cummings was born in Birmingham and educated at Solihull School, Christ Church, Oxford ...

, William Christie,

Roy Goodman Roy Goodman (born 26 January 1951) is an English conductor and violinist, specialising in the performance and direction of early music. He became internationally famous as the 12-year-old boy treble soloist in the March 1963 recording of Alleg ...

and

Stephen Layton Stephen David Layton (born 23 December 1966) is an English conductor. He was raised in Derby, where his father was a church organist. He was a chorister at Winchester Cathedral, and subsequently won scholarships to Eton College and then King's ...

. She appeared on numerous recordings, including Pinchgut Opera's Fairy Queen and Dardanus, The Wonders of the World with Echo du Danube, Mozart's

Requiem A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is ...

with the Leipzig Kammerorchester and Gewandhaus Kammerchor. She performed in performances of Purcell's The Fairy Queen with Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Israel in Egypt with Maulbronn Kammerchor and Monteverdi's 6th Book of Madrigals with Les Arts Florissants, and in the Australian premiere of

Bach's Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

reconstructed Markuspassion in the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

under

Arvo Volmer Arvo Volmer (born November 4, 1962, in Tallinn) is an Estonian conducting, conductor. Volmer was principal conductor of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra from 1993 to 2001. From 2004 to 2013 he was Chief Conductor and Music Director of the ...

. During her European and Australian tours she often performs major works by

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

, a unique selection of Purcell's songs from his semi-operas '' The Fairy Queen'', '' The Indian Queen'' and ''

King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...

'',

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

's ''Messiah'' and Mozart's

. In 2003 Miriam Allan was a prize-winner in the Handel Singing Competition for young professional singers organized annually by the London Handel Society. She is a vocal coach at Westminster Under School and Head of Singing at

Bloxham School Bloxham School, also called All Saints' School, is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private co-educational day and boarding school of the Public school (United Kingdom), British public school tradition, located in the village of Bloxham ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

. Since 2003 Miriam Allan has been based in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. She is married to Richard Bannan, a lay clerk of St George’s Chapel Windsor. On 17 April 2021, Allan was one of a choir of four singers (three of whom were Lay Clerks of St George's Chapel Choir) during the funeral service of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at

St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle St George's Chapel, formally titled The King's Free Chapel of the College of St George, Windsor Castle, at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is a Royal peculiar, Royal Peculia ...

Recordings

Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is considere ...

L'Orfeo ''L'Orfeo'' (Stattkus-Verzeichnis, SV 318) (), or ''La favola d'Orfeo'' , is a late Renaissance music, Renaissance/early Baroque music, Baroque ''favola in musica'', or List of operas by Claudio Monteverdi, opera, by Claudio Monteverdi, with a li ...

. Les Arts Florissants, Paul Agnew (2017)

References

External links

Miriam Allan website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allan, Miriam Living people Australian expatriates in England Australian sopranos University of Newcastle (Australia) alumni 1977 births Musicians from Newcastle, New South Wales 21st-century Australian women singers