SESTINA MUSIC NEXT GENERATION
YOUNG ARTIST MENTORING PROGRAMME
Sestina Music is now accepting expressions of interest in our 2024/2025 Next Generation Mentoring Programme. To register your interest and receive early notification of the audition process, please complete this form.
Auditions for the 2024/25 programme will be held in the Autumn of 2024. Dates and locations will be announced in due course.
Sestina Music's Next Generation Mentoring Programme is a mentoring programme for young aspiring professional singers with a strong focus on early music. Unlike other young artist programmes which run as separate strands to an ensemble’s main performance activities, it is integral to our core work as an ensemble, giving young singers the opportunity to work alongside established professionals. Our focus is on developing versatile musicians, giving singers the chance to perform in ensembles of different sizes and as solo singers, and giving them valuable training in opera and stagecraft.
The earliest participants in our mentoring programme are now well established in their professional careers, performing regularly with ensembles such as Gabrieli Consort, Tenebrae, Monteverdi Choir, Grange Park Opera, Opera de Lyon, Garsington Opera and Welsh National Opera, as well as forming a core ensemble for Sestina Music’s showcase performances, touring and collaborations.
2023/24 Next Generation Mentoring Programme Stage 1 Participants
Adam McDonagh | Aimee Kearney | Alice Giles | Anastasia Sereda | Caoimhe Duggan | Ciara Aoife Williams | David Yau | Desmond Halvin | Éadaoin Hassett | Eiméar Harper | Faye Herlihy | Hanna de Bruin | Hannah Irvine | Hannah Taylor | Laura Konrad | Lily Platts | Lucy O'Dwyer | Luke Condon | Mary Walsh | Nick O'Neill | Saoirse Claffery | Saoirse Daly | Sarah Van den Heuvel-Mouchot | Tamsin Raitt
STRUCTURE
Our mentoring programme is structured into 3 stages:
Stage 1
Following a successful audition, up to 30 singers will be invited to attend Stage 1. Stage 1 participants will join workshops and webinars throughout the year, focusing on aspects of performance such as language and audition technique as well as topics specific to early music such as ornamentation. At our workshops, singers will learn about style and interpretation and gain an insight into the professional working environment. Please note, there is a small participation fee of £30 to take part in Stage 1.
Stage 2
Up to eight singers who have attended the stage 1 mentoring course will be invited to join Sestina Music's core ensemble for a major project over the Easter holidays, typically consisting of a week of intensive rehearsals followed by a number of performances. Singers will work alongside professional singers and early music specialists instrumentalists and be expected to work at a professional level and pace.
Sestina Music's previous mentoring projects include a semi-staged production of Handel's Theodora with the Irish Baroque Orchestra; productions of Purcell's The Fairy Queen and Dido and Aeneas; Music for the Sun King, a programme of music from the court of Louis XI and a semi-dramatic performance of Handel’s Messiah. You can watch many of these performances here. In April 2023, the programme was Music of Celebration including Handel’s Zadok the Priest and Sing unto God, Purcell's Come ye sons of art and the Te Deum by Lully.
In April 2023, the proposed project for the stage 2 mentoring course is ‘Music of Celebration’, with programme to include Handel - Zadok the Priest, Handel - Sing unto God, Purcell - Come ye sons of art, Lully - Te Deum.
Stage 3
On completion of stage 3, singers are thereafter eligible to be selected for our numerous showcase performances, tours and recordings.
AUDITIONS
General Auditions
Sestina Music also accepts audition applications from singers who would like to be considered for our professional projects only, should vacancies arise within our 2023/24 season. The requirements for these are the same as outlined above. Please send any general audition applications to info@sestinamusic.com
Please note that singers who have taken part in our mentoring programme are prioritised for our professional engagements as part of our commitment to developing young singers. We also occasionally hold open auditions to support specific projects, and these will be announced on our website and social media pages.
We are grateful to our sponsors, Exitex Ltd, and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland for supporting this programme.
