Gweneth Ann Rand
English soprano Gweneth Ann Rand was a Royal Opera Young Artist 2001–03, during which period her Royal Opera roles included Ines (Il trovatore), Second Maid (Daphne), Rooster (The Cunning Little Vixen) and Fourth Maid (Elektra). She has since returned to sing in the world premiere of 4.48 Psychosis for The Royal Opera, River Woman (Heart of Darkness, world premiere) for ROH2 and in Hot House for the Royal Opera House Learning and Participation department.
Rand was born in Northampton and studied at the University of Exeter, Goldsmiths, University of London, and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Rand represented England in the 2001 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition and made her BBC Proms debut in 2001.
Simon Lepper
Simon Lepper read music at King’s College, Cambridge before studying piano accompaniment with Michael Dussek at the Royal Academy of Music and later with Ruben Lifschitz at the Fondation Royaumont.
He is a currently professor of collaborative piano and a vocal repertoire coach at the Royal College of Music, London where he also in charge of the collaborative piano course. Since 2003 he has been an official accompanist for the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition.
