guest performer
Simone Easthope
Soprano Simone Easthope graduated from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 2006 with a Bachelor of Music Degree, majoring in performance. She studies with Maree Ryan.
Simone's recent concert engagements as soprano soloist include Haydn's Nelson Mass, Carmina Burana with ChorusOz Wagga Carmina Burana conducted by Brett Weymark, Elijah, Mozart's Requiem, and Stabat Mater by Pergolesi. Other credits include Handel's Messiah for the Radio Community Chest in 2006, 2007 and 2008 and the Sydney University Graduate Choir, Mass in C by Beethoven with Christ Church St Lawrence Chamber Choir, Handel's Chandos Anthems with Coro Innominato, and Pergolesi's Stabat Mater with Orchestra 143. She was the soprano soloist in Carmina Burana in 2007 and in Mozart's Mass in C Minor in 2005 with the Conservatorium Choir and Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Neil McEwan. She was also the soloist for the Sydney Conservatorium Cello Ensemble conducted by Georg Pederson, singing Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 by Villa-Lobos. Simone performs regularly at the Conservatorium and in chamber music concerts around Sydney and NSW.
Simone is currently in her final year of a Diploma of Opera at the Conservatorium Opera School. As part of her studies, she has performed the roles of Miss Wordsworth in Albert Herring, the title role in Les Mamelles de Tiresias, the title role in Angélique, Ida (Die Fledermaus), Lola (Gallantry: A Soap Opera) , and Fiammetta (Prima Donna). She has had a continuing association with the Newcastle Festival Opera, for whom she has appeared as Valencienne The Merry Widow, and Despina in Così Fan Tutte, for which she was nominated for a City of Newcastle Dramatic Award.
She is the recipient of numerous scholarships and awards, including the Geoffrey Rothwell Scholarship, The Women's College Music Scholarship, the Helen Myers donation account, the Kia-Ora Stud Music grant, and the Margaret Henderson scholarship, and was included on the Dean's list of distinguished achievers in 2004 and 2007.
She has supplemented her vocal training with intensive studies in language over the past five years, and has travelled to Florence, Italy, and Munich, Germany, making important contacts for her future career. She has also been a prize-winner in numerous eisteddfodau, including the McDonalds Performing Arts Challenge, and was a finalist in the Audi German Opera Scholarship for 2009. Simone plans to pursue her career further in Europe.
Concerts with Chronology Arts