Guildhall School of Music and Drama - Gold Medal Final
8th May 2025Barbican Hall
8 Members of the Company and their guests attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Gold Medal Final concert at the Barbican Hall.
The prize is awarded to singers and instrumentalists in alternate years, and this year saw Seohyun and fellow finalists soprano Manon Ogwen Parry and baritone Redmond Sanders perform.
The finalists presented a short programme accompanied by pianists Zany Denyer (for Manon Ogwen Parry), and Sooyeon Baik (for Redmond Sanders and Seohyun Go) in the first half, followed by a second half with Guildhall Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jonathan Stockhammer.
Seohyun’s winning performance of works by Marx, Respighi, 임태규 (Taekyu Lim), Liszt, Richard Strauss, Mozart and Ravel was hugely impressive.
The concert saw outstanding performances by finalists Manon Ogwen Parry, Redmond Sanders and Seohyun Go. Across 23 works showcasing the finalists’ vocal talent, each performer shared a variety of songs and arias with the audience, reflecting their artistic influences own heritage, with a range of international repertoire including music by Meirion Williams, 임태규 (Taekyu Lim), and John Ireland.
The evening also featured the world premiere of alumnus Ben Pease Barton’s HOLME, supported by the inaugural Jane Manning – Anthony Payne Award, with text by fellow alumnus David Bottomley, featuring Guildhall mezzo-soprano Karima El Demerdasch.
It is a wonderful event, showing what extraordinary talent is available at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Well worth going to!