|
The English baritone, Will Pate, began singing as a treble in the choir of St Peter's Church, St Albans under Nick Robinson. Later, he held a choral scholarship at Magdalen College under Dan Hyde whilst studying for a Bachelor of Arts degree in French. During his Year Abroad as part of his languages degree, he studied Mélodie Française with Corinne Sertillanges in Orléans. He was Tutor at The St Albans Tuition Centre (November 2015-August 2016). In September 2016 he returned to Oxford for a year, singing as a Lay Clerk at Christ Church (Christ Church Cathedral Choir, Oxford) under Stephen Darlington (September 2016-August 2017) before beginning his studies for Master of Arts degree in Vocal Performance at the Royal Academy of Music in London in September 2017, graduating in July 2019. He was awarded a Distinction and DipRAM for outstanding performance, and won the Clifton Singing Prize for highest final recital mark.. He studied with Alexander Ashworth and Joseph Middleton, and held the Philip Hattey and Harry Fisher Memorial prizes.
Recent opera roles include Le Fauteuil and L'Arbre in L'Enfant et les Sortilèges (Royal Academy Opera, March 2019), Count Almaviva in W.A. Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro with Consortium Novum (February 2017), Mr Gedge [Vicar] in Benjamin Britten's Albert Herring with St Peter's Opera Company (November 2016) and a Cardinal in Philip Glass's opera Galilieo Galilei (New Chamber Opera, February 2013).
Will Pate's recent song recitals include a recital of French song at the Italian Cultural Institute as part of the Transforming Borders series, and he performed as part of Natasha Loges' Brahms Lecture recital at Academy. He is particularly interested in performing works by contemporary composers and in Summer 2018 performed a series of new compositions of Protest Songs by Academy composers at the Waterloo Festival. He is a member of the Royal Academy of Music's prestigious Song Circle, and was Highly Commended in the Major Can Someren-Godfrey Vocal Prize for English Song.
As a soloist he has recently sung in performances of J.S. Bach’s Matthew Passion (BWV 244) for Trevor Pinnock, W.A. Mozart's Mass in C Minor at St John's Smith Square, and Haydn’s Nelson Mass with the London Mozart Players. In May 2019 he appeared as Ormonte in Hampstead Garden Opera's production of George Frideric Handel's Partenope. He was supported by grants from The Laurin and Arthur Glaze Trust, TalentAid, The Kathleen Trust, The Clive and Sylvia Richards Charity and Mr P Giraud, among others. He is supported by The Josephine Baker Trust in partnership with the Royal Academy of Music |
