This masterclass will be live streamed on this page in HD. The video will be available on demand for 365 days after the date of the broadcast.

The tenor Nicky Spence, named BBC Music Magazine Personality of the Year in 2022, has earned critical plaudits on the world’s leading stages with a combination of what The Times describes as ‘heroic tone and a poetic sensibility that takes the breath away’. His 2024/25 season residency continues with two afternoons of masterclasses, working with singers from the London music colleges.

Canadian soprano, Abigail Sinclair, recently graduated with an MA from the Royal Academy of Music, and is now a member of Royal Academy Opera (RAO). Previous RAO roles include Emmie in Britten’s Albert Herring and Taumännchen in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel. She looks forward to making her debut as the Queen of the Night in their upcoming production of The Magic Flute. She was a 2024 fellow with the Institut Canadien d’Art Vocal in Montreal and sang Adele in Strauss’s Die Fledermaus (La Chauve-Souris) with Orchestre classique de Montréal and conductor Simon Rivard. Earlier that year, she performed the chamber piece Love, Loss and Exile by Juhi Bansal as part of ‘Only Voice Remains’, a concert co-curated by composer, Niloufar Nourbakhsh and Sparks & Wiry Cries at National Sawdust in Brooklyn, New York. She is grateful for the support of the Mills Williams Foundation, the Nova Scotia Talent Trust, and the Royal Academy of Music. 

Ben Markovic is a first-year Master’s student in Ensemble Piano at the Royal Academy of Music, studying with James Cheung and Joseph Middleton. He read music and held the organ scholarship at Queens’ College, Cambridge, and has held scholarship positions at Worcester Cathedral and St Stephen’s, Walbrook with St Martin-in-the-Fields. Alongside his degree, he is active as a freelance keyboard player, teacher and conductor, working frequently with the Rodolfus Foundation and National Children’s Choir of Great Britain, and has performed with ensembles including the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, the St Martin’s Chamber Ensemble and London Choral Sinfonia. He also holds the post of Director of Music at St Mary’s, Barnes, and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists. 

Stephen Walker is currently studying at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance with Robert Alderson. He graduated from TU Dublin Conservatoire in 2022 with First Class Honours and received the Gold Medal for Academic Excellence. He sings in Ireland and the UK regularly, including for two seasons at Wexford Festival Opera and multiple projects with the Philharmonia Chorus. He is an alumnus of the Glyndebourne Academy through which he has performed as part of the Glyndebourne Chorus. One of his most interesting projects to date was working with the Romantic National Song Network singing a selection of songs and ballads from the British Isles in Glasgow in 2019. He remains a featured artist on the networks website. He intends to continue forging his professional path in London and perform as much as possible throughout the UK. Stephen Walker will perform in the coming season as an Alvarez Artist for Garsington Opera. 

Yuri Inoshita is a pianist based in London, currently pursuing her MMus studies under Martino Tirimo at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance, with kind support from the Peter Harris Trust. She previously graduated from Hosei University in Tokyo majoring in Intercultural Communication as well as finishing her diploma in Piano Performance at Toho Gakuen College of Music. As a soloist, she performs extensively in the UK, as well as in Japan and Germany. She has participated in masterclasses taken by Dmitri Alexeev, Pascal Rogé, and Andreas Stier. As a chamber musician, she was awarded the David Gosling Prize for Piano Accompaniment in 2023 and her piano trio, Meissa Trio, has won prizes in international competitions. 

Harun Tekin is an English–Turkish tenor, brought up around a family-owned restaurant in rural Lincolnshire. After developing an interest in music through film, TV and folk, his primary school music teacher (the composer Peter Seabourne) imbued him with a sense of love and wonder for the subject, eventually introducing him to singing where he has found his career. Harun is now continuing his studies at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, where he is a D'Oyly Carte Trust and City of London scholar. In July, he was in the chorus for West Green House Opera’s The Barber of Seville by Rossini and in May/June 2025, he will perform the role of Benedict in Saint-Saëns’ Silver Bell for New Sussex Opera before playing Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with the Peregrine Orchestra. Harun Tekin will perform in Mendelssohn’s Elijah for Chameleon Arts in March. In June, he will perform in Wigmore Hall and the Salle Cortort in Paris as a part of the Wigmore French Song Exchange. 

Sooyeon Baik is a collaborative pianist from South Korea, actively expanding her career throughout Europe, the United Kingdom, the United States, and South Korea. With a wide range of repertoire, she has appeared in major venues in London including Wigmore Hall and the Barbican. She is completing her Artist Diploma programme in collaborative piano at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London, studying with Julius Drake and Carole Presland, while she is pursuing her doctorate at the University of Cincinnati where she earned her Bachelor's degree (magna cum laude) and Master's degree in piano performance. Her studies at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama are generously supported by the Leverhulme Trust.

Madeleine Perring started her musical career as a chorister and vocal specialist at Wells Cathedral before her undergraduate studies at the Royal College of Music. After graduating from the RCM with first class honours, she is thrilled to be studying with Rosa Mannion and is grateful to continue her Master’s studies as a Brooks-Anderson Award holder. Highlights from the past year include a masterclass with Sir Thomas Allen in the Britten Theatre at the RCM and various opera scenes, as well as working as a soprano soloist with the Somerset and Plymouth choral societies, and most recently with the Civil Service Choir at Sinfonia Smith Square. She is looking forward to her final year of her Master’s with generous support from both Help Musicians UK and the Countess of Munster Musical Trust, as well as the Janet Baker Trust. She has exciting forthcoming opportunities, including joining the Alvarez Artist programme at Garsington Opera, performing in the chorus of three operas and covering the role of Gianetta in Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore, as well as joining the Wigmore Hall French Song Exchange. 

Matthew Clemmet is a collaborative pianist currently studying at the Royal College of Music under the guidance of Simon Lepper, Roger Vignoles, and Kathron Sturrock. He is a Leverhulme Arts Scholar and is generously supported by Help Musicians UK for the current academic year. Before moving to London, Matthew read music at Christ Church, Oxford where he held academic and instrumental scholarships and graduated with a first-class degree. Whilst at Oxford, he studied piano with Anna Tilbrook and developed a particular interest in vocal repertoire and chamber music. Matthew Clemmet is also a keen soloist and made his concerto debut in 2024 playing Grieg’s Piano Concerto in