Posted on 8 February 2012
Outstanding young soprano Louise Alder has won the Maggie Teyte Prize of £2,000 along with a Miriam Licette Scholarship of £1,500. As part of her prize, she will perform a lunchtime recital in the Crush Room at the Royal Opera House on 14 May.
The Maggie Teyte Prize and Miriam Licette Scholarships are open to female singers studying at
postgraduate level and place particular emphasis on the interpretation of French mélodie. Administered by
the Musicians Benevolent Fund and generously sponsored by Felicity
Guinness, they aim to herald outstanding vocal talent. Louise Alder (pictured right) joins an impressive roll call of previous
winners including Patricia Rozario OBE, Lisa Milne, Elizabeth Watts, Anna
Leese and Katherine Broderick.
Currently a postgraduate student at the Royal College of Music, Louise was born in London and read music at Edinburgh University. She graduated a Bucher-Fraser scholar with First Class Honours in 2010 before joining the RCM where she has won first prize in both the Lieder and English song competitions and studies with Dinah Harris on a full scholarship. She is a Britten-Pears Young Artist and over two years has been awarded both an Ian Fleming Award and a Maidment Scholarship administered by the Musicians Benevolent Fund, a Dewar Arts Award, and scholarships from the Countess of Munster, AHRC and Hope Scott Trust. On
15 February Louise will be soloist in the world premiere of a
newly-orchestrated cantata by Debussy, Diane au bois, at the RCM. She will also sing Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro) this summer at RCM and in September join the RCM International Opera School on a full scholarship.
The audition panel of Valerie Masterson CBE, Jean Rigby, Iain Burnside and Royal Opera House Head of Music David Syrus, awarded further Miriam Licette Scholarships of £1,000 to sopranos Katherine Crompton (Royal College of Music), Eleanor Dennis (Royal College of Music) and Anna Gillingham (Guildhall School of Music and Drama). The Musicians Benevolent Fund Accompanist’s Prize (£1,000) went to Matthew Fletcher (Royal Academy of Music).