Link To:

Nigel Hopkins

Born in Royal Leamington Spa in the UK, Nigel has had an extensive and varied musical career. He has performed as a singer and conductor in such diverse musical genres as Opera, Oratorio, and Musical Theatre and on the concert platform.

Nigel has sung much of the standard operatic repertoire at venues in the UK, USA, and Europe. His principal tenor operatic roles have included Madam Butterfly, La Boheme, Rigoletto, I Pagliacci, Cavelleria Rusticana, Magic Flute, Cosi Fan Tutte, Don Pasquale, Carmen, and many more. He created the principal tenor role in the World Premiere of Newton’s My Lady’s Maid. He is very well-known on the operatic concert platform, and enjoys a fine reputation as a producer and conductor.

His first love was always Oratorio. He excels in the Handelian repertoire (Jephtha, Acis & Galatea, Judas Maccabeus, etc.) and in particular Messiah, for which he has a national reputation, and which he first recorded with Decca when he was just 21 years old. He made his London debut in 1980 in St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, where he sang Bach’s Magnificat, under the world famous conductor, Dr Max Pommer of Leipzig, to rave reviews. Critics hailed his performances in Mendelssohn’s Elijah, calling him, “that silver-voiced tenor with velvet tones who floats over the higher register with a lyricism which few can match …”. He has always been in great demand for his performances of Rossini’s Stabat Mater, in which the tenor soars to a high Db in ‘Cujus Animam‘.

Nigel has conducted the "Last Night of the Proms" on five occasions. He has conducted some of the finest orchestras in Europe, including the English Symphony Orchestra (twice), New London Orchestra, East of England Orchestra, and the Corinthian Orchestra. His guest soloists have included Julian Lloyd Webber (Elgar Cello Concerto), Carlos Bonell (Concierto de Aranjuez), Peter Donohoe (Grieg Piano Concerto) and Roger Coull (Bruch Violin Concerto).

Nigel’s other successes include countless Opera Gala concerts in which he has directed many of the UK’s leading operatic soloists, and for which he has trained several massed choirs, including the Royal Leamington Spa Promenade Chorus, the Nigel Hopkins Singers, and Let’s Sing! He has conducted many famous performances of Messiah with huge massed choruses and leading soloists, including the first ever performance by his son, Matthew Hopkins, who now has a national reputation for singing the work.

Nigel formed and directs his massed choir “Let’s Sing” in 2003. Based in Birmingham and Coventry, the choir of 100 singers performs music from the popular and Musical Theatre repertoires. Having performed in countless productions of musicals as principal tenor and conductor, and training many singers for West End professions, his wealth of experience in this field reaps huge rewards.

Nigel has long enjoyed a wide reputation as a vocal tutor. His personal experience as one of the UK’s leading performers has enabled him to pass on his knowledge to his pupils, who find this invaluable in the pursuit of their careers.

His most recent innovation has been the inception of his Choral Workshops. He has held these with oratorio (Fauré, Mozart and Rutter Requiems, Messiah, Vivaldi Gloria, etc.), but most recently he has concentrated on Music Theatre performances. These are well-known in the UK, but he has now launched a series on the Costa Blanca in Spain.

 

Matthew Hopkins

Matthew started his musical career as Head Chorister of the famous travelling choir of St Mary, Warwick. With them he performed in all the famous cathedrals in the UK; visited St Petersburg in Russia, and sang to President Bush Snr. in Washington DC, USA.
At 14 years of age he became accompanist to the famous Royal Leamington Spa Childrens’ Choir, conducted by his father, Nigel. With them he performed across the UK, and on European tours to Barcelona in Spain, and Cologne, Hamelin and the Rhine in Germany.

Matthew continued his musical education at the Birmingham Conservatoire under the famous tenor, Professor Julian Pike, where he gained his Bachelor of Music with Honours. Since that time he has gained a substantial reputation as a tenor soloist across the UK. He sings all genres of music including Oratorio, Opera and Musical Theatre, and is a specialist in the English song repertoire.

In Oratorio, Matthew already has a national reputation for his performances of Handel’s Messiah and Mendelssohn’s Elijah. His Haydn’s Seasons, Mozart Requiem, and Carl Jenkins’ Armed Man have received rave reviews from the press, and he is much in demand as a freelance tenor soloist.

He has a similar love for Opera and has performed a diversity of roles. These include Britten’s Billy Budd, Mozart’s Magic Flute, and Cavalli’s Calisto. He created the tenor role of ’Cecil’ in the World Premiere performance of Robin Grant’s Dee.

Matthew is equally at home on the concert platform, and has performed alongside the famous CBSO to 22,000 people performing Musical Theatre hits. He is also principal tenor of the professional group ‘The West End Showstoppers’ who frequently tour the UK, and for whom he writes all the orchestral and band arrangements.

Matthew made his professional conducting debut in 2003 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in Peter Pan, starring Matthew Kelly. Since then he has conducted many shows and professional pantomimes, and in 2008 conducted Fame to rave reviews in the Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham.

At just 24 years of age, Matthew was appointed Director of Music at Nottingham Trent University, and caters for the musical needs of 27,000 students. Since creating the university chorus and orchestra, he has conducted works including both the John Rutter and Karl Jenkins Requiems amongst a plethora of diverse choral works.

In May 2009, Matthew formed two national musical groups, Youth Choir UK, and
Youth Orchestra UK. These will cater for the highest quality of youth music in the UK, catering for top class singers and orchestral players between the ages of 14 and 19+. Great excitement has been caused by 'Youth Choir/Orchestra UK' which will start rehearsing in September 2009. Matthew's huge experience as a conductor and vocal coach will stand him in good stead to direct both of these innovations to great success.

 

 

home | curr.vit. | history | gallery | media | other-links | contact-us | apply