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The English soprano, Zoё Brookshaw (née Brown), began to sing in her local church choir at the age of 7 and her love of singing developed during her teenage years as a member of the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain. She held a choral scholarship whilst studying Theology at Trinity College, Cambridge, where she was a Choral Scholar singing in Trinity College Choir of Cambridge under Stephen Layton. After graduating in 2008, she was awarded a place on the Monteverdi Choir Apprenticeship Scheme for a year, and continues to perform regularly with the group. She studies singing with Ashley Stafford.
In demand as a concert soloist specialising in Baroque oratorio, Zoё Brookshaw has sung solos for many eminent conductors in Europe’s greatest concert halls. Solo highlights on the concert platform include George Frideric Handel's (Cadogan Hall/Sir John Eliot Gardiner), J.S. Bach's Advent Cantatas (The Berlin Philharmonie, Paris’ Cité de la Musique, Cadogan Hall/ Sir John Eliot Gardiner), Purcell’s Fairy Queen (Christ Church, Spitalfields, Madrid’s Auditorio Nacional/Paul McCreesh), Antonio Vivaldi's Gloria and G.F. Handel's Dixit Dominus (Amsterdam Concertgebouw/Collegium Vocale Gent), Benjamin Britten's A Ceremony of Carols (Snape Maltings/Stephen Layton), Monteverdi's Vespers (The Royal Albert Hall/Ben Parry), A. Vivaldi's Gloria and J.S. Bach's Magnificat (BWV 243) (St John’s Cathedral, Malta/Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, James Burton), J.S. Bach's Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248) and G.F. Handel's Messiah (St John Smith Square/Solomon's Knot, Jonathan Sells), G.F. Handel's Messiah (Snape Maltings/Suffolk Baroque, Edmond Fivet), G.F. Handel's Dixit Dominus (Milton Court/Hertfordshire Chorus), Monteverdi Madrigals (Wigmore Hall and Saffron Hall/Jonathan Cohen, Arcangelo) and J.S. Bach's St Matthew Passion (BWV 244) (St Albans/Hertfordshire Chorus), G.F. Handel's Solomon (King's College Choir Cambridge/Stephen Cleobury), Haydn's Nelson Mass (West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge/Cambridgeshire Choral Society). Further solo engagements include W.A. Mozart's Requiem, Purcell's King Arthur, Antonio Vivaldi's Magnificat, Gabriel Fauré's Requiem, and L.v. Beethoven's Mass in C.
Opera credits include Purcell’s Fairy Queen under the directorship of Paul McCreesh, chorus in Georges Bizet's Carmen at L'Opera Comique in Paris, the Alhambra Palace and the Grand Theatre de Luxembourg, Weber's Le Freyschuetz at L'Opéra Comique in Paris and chorus in Glück's Orphée at the Royal Opera House. In November 2015, Zoё Brookshaw made her opera debut in Venice and with I Fagiolini (Director: Robert Hollingworth) singing the role of Eurydice in Monteverdi’s Orfeo.
Zoё Brookshaw is a highly regarded consort singer and has sung with many of England’s leading ensembles including The Monteverdi Choir (Director: John Eliot Gardiner), The Sixteen (Director: Harry Christophers), Gabrieli Consort (Director: Paul McCreesh), Tenebrae (Director: Nigel Short), Polyphony (Director: Stephen Layton), Choir of Enlightenment, Solomon's Knot (Director: Jonathan Sells), Arcangelo (Director: Jonathan Cohen) and the Platinum Consort, as well as with Collegium Vocale Gent (Director: Philippe Herreweghe). With these groups she has made many recordings and enjoys a busy touring schedule in Europe and the USA.
Zoё Brookshaw can be heard singing solos on many recordings, notably, ‘Benjamin Britten: A Ceremony of Carols, Saint Nicolas’ (Trinity College Choir of Cambridge, Stephen Layton/Hyperion), ‘In the Dark’ (Platinum Consort/Resonus Classics), ‘Mary’s Hope’ (Platinum Concsort/Resonus Classics), ‘Baltic Exchange’ (Trinity College Choir of Cambridge, Stephen Layton/Hyperion), ‘The Cranmer Legacy’ (Choir of St Michael at the North Gate, The City Church of Oxford, Tom Hammond-Davies/Regent Records) and on discs soon to be released by two new leading ensembles, Ora and Arcangelo. She married Alastair Brookshaw on August 8, 2015 and currently lives in London, England. |
