Sara Cluderay studied singing with Chester-based soprano Diana Palmerston, before training at Trinity College of Music, London under John Wakefield, gaining her Licentiate Diploma in Vocal Performance. Roles sung at college include Monica in Menotti's The Medium and chorus roles in She Loves Me (Jerry Bock), Vanessa by Samuel Barber, Vaughan Williams' Riders to the Sea and Beatrice Cenci (Goldschmidt) at Spitalfields Market Opera. She was awarded scholarships to study contemporary vocal techniques at Dartington International Summer School and has undertaken masterclasses with Mary King and David Mason. More recently, she has studied with the celebrated soprano Rosemary Ashe.
Sara sings repertoire across a wide range of genres, including jazz, cabaret, musical theatre and classical.
Opera credits include La Traviata (Chorus) with Dartington Festival Opera, the world premiere of Uncle Remus (Mrs Richardson) for Pegasus Opera at Hackney Empire, and Cirque d'Hoffmann, based on Offenbach's Tales of Hoffmann with Arkadia Opera Zirkus. Sara sang the major role of Stella, La Voix de la Sirene, incorporating all three female leads from the opera: Olympia, Giulietta and Antonia. The production toured UK venues, including Jacksons Lane Theatre, Croydon Clocktower Theatre and Buxton Opera House. Concert appearances include Chester Town Hall, Barbican, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Corsham Festival and the National Portrait Gallery. Sara toured for four years with contemporary pianist Sophia Russell, as the concert ensemble Novitas.
Sara is a chorister at the West London Synagogue and has sung with the choir and as soloist, at Friends' House, London and at Westminster Abbey. Other choral work includes the Chapel at Gray's Inn. Sara has also performed as a session singer with rock band The Clint Boon Experience, touring major UK rock venues and festivals, and supporting headlining acts Travis and Echo & the Bunnymen. She has made a number of session recordings with the band and has broadcast for BBC Radio 1 and Channel Five, Channel 4 and E4 Television. Collaborations include contemporary music singer Monica Acosta and internationally-renowned pianist Kate Ryder. Sara performed the Sondheim-based programmes A Glamorous Life? and Ladies Who Lunch with Kate Ryder (touring) and she has recorded with the ensemble 4 Girls 4 Harps. Sara was a featured artist in Olympics Celebrate for BBC One and in Spring 2009, she sang in the TV series Help! Find Me A Wedding Entertainer! for Wedding TV. Appearances in 2010 included Glitter music theatre cabaret show (touring), gala concerts at the Serbian Embassy and The Actors' Church, Covent Garden, a "guest diva" spot at Belgrave & Manera's Music and Comedy Club (Camden), and a choral tour of New York City, singing at landmark venues including St. Thomas' Church Fifth Avenue, Holy Trinity Wall Street and the Cathedral of St. John-the-Divine. Sara also sang at the famous Don't Tell Mama piano bar in New York's West Side. Sara completed the year with a series of concerts of French music in London, with the Canadian pianist Bruce Vogt, and cellist Mayda Narvey. Appearances for 2011 include dchoral services at Ripon Cathedral and York Minster, cabaret at Rosemary Branch Theatre and Royal Vauxhall Tavern, plus the world premiere of a new commission, by composer Daryl Runswick (Crown Court Church of Scotland, Covent Garden). In 2012, Sara will perform in cabaret at The Pheasantry, RVT and a monthly residency at Cafe Koha (West End), as well as a performing in a Masterclass at King' Place.
Press
"Ethereal soprano...stunning performance" - Total Theatre
"Sound-blasting vocal gymnastics" - Melody Maker
"Ms Cluderay's great strength - besides her unquestionable vocal dexterity - is her quirkiness...she combined engaging storytelling, black comedy and limpid singing into an effervescent cocktail." - remotegoat.co.uk
Photo credit: M.A.D. Photography www.mad-photography.co.uk
Click here to view Sara Cluderay's Spotlight CV.