EDITH PRITCHARD Biography

EDITH PRITCHARD | Singer | Teacher | Adjudicator | Administrator Edith Pritchard was born in Edmonton, raised in the Okanagan and studied in

Vancouver and Toronto before graduating with merit from the Royal Northern College

of Music in Manchester, England. Having given acclaimed performances of

Elisabetta (Don Carlos) at the RNCM, Edith joined the Glyndebourne Festival Opera,

singing Fiordiligi (Cosi Fan Tutte) with Simon Rattle. She has sung with virtually

every major opera company in the UK in roles as diverse as Miss Wingrave (Owen

Wingrave) to First Lady (Zauberflöte) for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden,

where she made her operatic

debut.

Concert work includes standard oratorio repertoire as well as works by 20^th century

composers. This includes Webern’s Funf Geistliches Lieder, Schoenberg’s Pierrot

Lunaire, Birtwistle’s Entra’actes and Sappho Fragments and Nicola Lefanu’s

Dawnpath, performed at the Cardiff Music Festival.

As a recitalist, Edith has appeared at many venues, including the Royal Opera

House, Covent Garden, in the “Young Artists” series, the Chester Lunchtime Recital

Series, the Pro Arts Society (Calgary), and the University of Lethbridge.

Since moving to Calgary, Edith has sung with the Mount Royal Kantorei (The Magic

of Mozart, and “Merrie England” at the Jack Singer Concert Hall), the Lethbridge

Symphony (Elijah and Messiah in 2006), and the Bow Valley Chorus (Mozart

Requiem, April, 2006). In April, 2009, she performed the world premiere of Elegy by

Quenten Doolittle for the 25^th anniversary concert of New Works Calgary. In addition

to her busy performance schedule, she teaches voice at Rocky Mountain College

and also gives coachings to more advanced students.

In the fall of 2010, Edith joined the artistic team of Cowtown Opera, a new and

exciting initiative in Calgary that provides performing opportunities for up and coming

opera singers in Alberta. In addition, she is a co-founder of Cowtown Opera

Summer Academy at Mount Royal University Conservatory, an intensive program for

singers between the ages of 17 and 23.

In April 2011, Edith completed a Masters of Music degree in Vocal Performance at

the University of Calgary, supported by project grants from the Alberta Foundation for

the Arts as well as a prestigious University of Calgary Queen Elizabeth Graduate

Award.

Amongst many other awards and scholarships, Edith Pritchard was the inaugural

winner of the Brigitte Fassbaender Prize for Lieder (RNCM) and is a recipient of

Glyndebourne’s Esso Award and the coveted John Christie Award.