Two major singing competitions have been won by RCS alumni this month.

Congratulations to Will Frost and Matthew McKinney for their successes in the International Handel Singing Competition and the Kathleen Ferrier Awards, respectively.

Will, a bass baritone, won the International Handel Singing Competition in London, now in its twentieth year, which takes place during the London Handel Festival.

The jury was chaired by David Gowland who is the artistic director of the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

Will won £5,000 and will be offered a major performance at next year’s festival. Enjoy his performance, below, from 57 minutes.

Will, who graduated with a First Class BMus and subsequent MMus, studied under Julian Tovey.

He performs in Garsington Opera’s upcoming production of Rameau’s Platée and will join the Confidencen Opera & Music Festival for a production of Handel’s Alcina. Will joins the Graz Opera young artist programme in Austria in August for its next season.

Tenor Matthew McKinney won first prize in this year’s Kathleen Ferrier Awards competition in Wigmore Hall.

The panel was chaired by conductor and pianist David Syrus, former Head of Music at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.

The Kathryn Ferrier Prize carries not only a £12,500 award but catapults the winner towards a major career. Matthew follows in the footsteps of previous winners, RCS graduates Gemma Summerfield (2015) and Karen Cargill (2002).

Listen to Matthew talking about his win on BBC Radio 3’s Saturday Morning programme, from 2.31.05

Matthew recently recorded La Traviata (OperaGlass Works) and La Bohème on Robin Norton-Hale’s forthcoming feature produced by Finite Films and is currently singing with the Glyndebourne Festival Chorus.

Matthew, who studied with Stephen Robertson at RCS, was awarded First Class Honours for his BMus degree followed it with an MMus in 2021.

During his time at RCS, he won both the Norma Greig French Song Competition and the Governors’ Recital Prize

Professor Aaron Shorr, Director of Music at RCS, said: “For RCS graduates to bag two of Britain’s top singing prizes in short succession is quite spectacular and we send them our warmest congratulations.”

Main photo: Ben Durrant

Matthew photo: Craig Fuller