Ruth Holton (born 1961)"Holton, Ruth" in David M. Cummings (ed.) ''International Who's Who in Classical Music, 2003'', London, Europa Publications p.353. is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

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 ...

singer.

Training

Holton won a choral exhibition at

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the Unive ...

and studied music there.Ruth Holton Biography
at GoldbergWeb.com.Accessed November 1, 2009. Her later musical studies were with Elizabeth Lane, Nancy Long and Julie Kennard.

Career

Like several other former members of the Clare College choir, she joined the

Cambridge Singers The Cambridge Singers is an English mixed voice chamber choir formed in 1981 by their director John Rutter with the primary purpose of making recordings under their own label Collegium Records. The group initially comprised former singers fro ...

, founded by

John Rutter Sir John Milford Rutter (born 24 September 1945) is an English composer, conductor, editor, arranger, and record producer, mainly of choral music. Biography Born on 24 September 1945 in London, the son of an industrial chemist and his wife, R ...

, a previous director of music at Clare. She has also been recorded as a member of the

Tallis Scholars The Tallis Scholars is a British professional early music vocal ensemble established in 1973. Normally consisting of two singers per part, with a core group of ten singers, they specialise in performing ''a cappella'' Religious music, sacred vocal ...

. Holton is a frequent singer of

baroque music Baroque music ( or ) refers to the period or dominant style of Classical music, Western classical music composed from about 1600 to 1750. The Baroque style followed the Renaissance music, Renaissance period, and was followed in turn by the Class ...

and has performed or recorded with such

early music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750) or Ancient music (before 500 AD). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad Dates of classical ...

specialists as

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 ...

Ton Koopman Antonius Gerhardus Michael "Ton" Koopman (; born 2 October 1944) is a Dutch conductor, organist, harpsichordist, and musicologist, primarily known for being the founder and director of the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir. He is a professor ...

and

Gustav Leonhardt Gustav Maria Leonhardt (30 May 1928 – 16 January 2012) was a Dutch keyboardist, conductor, musicologist, teacher and editor. He was a leading figure in the historically informed performance movement to perform music on period instruments. Leo ...

. Several critics have noted the light boyish qualities of her voice.L.S
Review of St John Passion
''Gramophone'' February 1987, p.78 Holton made her recording debut as a soloist in 1986 with Bach's ''

St John Passion The ''Passio secundum Joannem'' or ''St John Passion'' (), BWV 245, is a Passion or oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, the earliest of the surviving Passions by Bach. It was written during his first year as director of church music in Leipzi ...

'' and between 2000 and 2001 took part in a project with

Pieter Jan Leusink Pieter Jan Leusink (born 5 April 1958 in Elburg) is a Dutch conductor of classical music. He studied organ in Zwolle at the Municipal Conservatory and took conducting lessons from Gottfried van der Horst. He founded the Stadsknapenkoor Elburg (E ...

, the Netherlands Bach Collegium and the

Holland Boys Choir Pieter Jan Leusink (born 5 April 1958 in Elburg) is a Dutch conductor of classical music. He studied organ in Zwolle at the Municipal Conservatory and took conducting lessons from Gottfried van der Horst. He founded the Stadsknapenkoor Elburg ...

to record all

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 ...

's sacred

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...

s as part of

Brilliant Classics Brilliant Classics is a classical music label based in the Dutch town of Leeuwarden. It is renowned for releasing super-budget-priced editions on CD of the complete works of J.S. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and many other composers. The label also s ...

' complete Bach Edition. She participated in the project of

and the

Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir is a Dutch early-music group based in Amsterdam. The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir was created in two stages by the conductor, organist and harpsichordist Ton Koopman. He founded the Amsterdam Bar ...

to record Bach's complete vocal works. She has also worked with the choir of

St. Thomas Church, Leipzig The St. Thomas Church () is a Lutheran church in Leipzig, Germany, located at the western part of the inner city ring road in Leipzig's central district. Martin Luther preached in the church in 1539. It is associated with several well-known ...

, where Bach was

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...

, and took part in their televised performance of the '' Mass in B minor'' marking the 250th anniversary of the composer's death, as well as in an earlier broadcast of the ''St John Passion''. Other baroque composers she has recorded include

Carissimi (Gian) Giacomo Carissimi (; baptized 18 April 160512 January 1674) was an Italian composer and music teacher. He is one of the most celebrated masters of the early Baroque or, more accurately, the Roman School of music. Carissimi established the ...

Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: ; September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version of Shakespeare's ...

and

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 ...

. Among her work on later music are recordings of

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 ...

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

and

Schütz Schütz (also spelled ''Schuetz'' without Umlaut ü) is a German surname, deriving from ''Schütze'' (shooter/marksman). Notable people with the surname include: People * Alfred Schütz (1899–1959), sociologist and philosopher * Antal Schütz ( ...

, a live performance of Dvořák's ''Stabat Mater'', and performances and recordings of contemporary composers including

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer best known as a pioneer of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, and canons. Reich descr ...

and new works by David Briggs, Howard Thomas, Matthew King, Brian Inglis and

Guy Woolfenden Guy Anthony Woolfenden (12 July 1937 – 15 April 2016) was an English composer and conductor. He was head of music at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon for 37 years, making music an integral part of over 150 productions t ...

. She has also given

Lied In the Western classical music tradition, ( , ; , ; ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German and Dutch, but among English and French speakers, is often used interchangea ...

er recitals, some of which have been broadcast by

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

Westdeutscher Rundfunk (; "West German Broadcasting Cologne"), shortened to WDR (), is a German public broadcasting, public-broadcasting institution based in the States of Germany, Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a const ...

. Holton has appeared at events such as the

Aldeburgh Festival The Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the town of Aldeburgh, Suffolk and is centred on Snape Maltings Concert Hall. History of the Aldeburgh Festi ...

and the

Three Choirs Festival 200px, Worcester cathedral 200px, Gloucester cathedral The Three Choirs Festival is a music festival held annually at the end of July, rotating among the cathedrals of the Three Counties (Hereford, Gloucester, and Worcester) and originally fe ...

. In addition to performing, she has coached singers internationally, as well as having been head of vocal studies at St. Joseph's College, London.Biography at agent's site
Daviesmusic, accessed 1 November 2009

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holton, Ruth English sopranos Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge 1961 births Living people English performers of early music Women performers of early music 20th-century English singers 20th-century English women singers Singers with The Tallis Scholars