Last month, second-year BMus student and baritone Oliver Freyne participated in the prestigious Kathleen Ferrier Society Bursary Competition at the Milton Court Concert Hall, Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He won the Alfreda Hodgson Prize for low voice and the Collingwood Finalist’s Prize.
The Kathleen Ferrier Memorial Scholarship Fund was founded in 1953 in memory of the much-loved contralto from Lancashire who died at the tragically young age of 41 and whose career as a singer lasted just 12 years. The initial purpose of the Fund, known as the Kathleen Ferrier Awards, was to make an annual award to a young British singer sufficient to cover the cost of a year’s study and general support. The first competition was held in 1956 and it has continued to provide a few outstanding talented young singers each year since then with the opportunity of making a start in what is a most difficult and demanding career. The competition is better known as the Junior Ferrier, with conservatoires entering candidates who are at the beginning of their undergraduate second year.
On winning the award, Oliver Freyne states: “I am honoured to receive the Alfreda Hodgson Prize as I am the first ever recipient of it. It was enjoyable and inspiring to listen to all the singers that attended. All showed immense passion in every performance. Milton Court was a beautiful venue to perform in and I felt at home with the friendly community that came from the Kathleen Ferrier Society.”