Soprano
Sarah Leonard is one of Britain’s most respected and versatile sopranos. She was born in Winchester and studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London. She has a wide repertoire with a particular interest in contemporary music and has appeared throughout the world in major concert halls, opera houses and festivals. She has worked closely with many leading composers including Birtwistle, Boulez, Dusapin, Ferneyhough, Harle, Harvey, Huber, Lachenmann, Ligeti, Nyman and Sciarrino and premiered numerous works. Her 30-plus recordings include a recital series of English Song with Malcolm Martineau, works by Varèse with Chailly and the Concertgebouw Orchestra and Ligeti’s Aventures, Nouvelle Aventures with the Schoenberg Ensemble.She recently recorded a new song cycle by Joe Cutler, In Praise of Dreams, with Stephen Gutman, piano, for NMC.
Recent concerts include the UK premiere of ‘Got Lost’ a major new song cycle written for the her and the pianist Rolf Hind, by Helmut Lachenmann, at the 2009 Aldeburgh Festival, and Elliot Carter’s A mirror on which to dwell, with the Northern Sinfonia.
Sarah regularly sings with the ensemble Gemini, and has a duo with cellist Robin Michael. They have performed in the BMIC’s Cutting Edge series and given many workshops and concerts throughout the UK.
Sarah devotes much time to encouraging young composers to develop new repertoire for the voice and has worked extensively with Joanna Lee who has written several pieces for her. She is also a visiting lecturer at Trinity College of Music and teaches singing at Central School of Speech and Drama, London, and Hull University.