English soprano and conductor Emily Dickens is an internationally established singer, performer and educator. A full-time member of the critically acclaimed British vocal ensemble VOCES8 for eight years, Emily has performed music from Renaissance England to contemporary commissions and American pop, all over the world.
Emily was born in Winchester and was a founder member and Head Chorister of the Winchester Cathedral Girls' Choir. She read music at Trinity College, Cambridge, where she held a choral scholarship, graduating in 2009. Emily began her professional career in the same summer as her final exams, performing in the Beijing National Centre for Performing Arts in China with VOCES8. She has performed in many of the world's leading concert halls including The Royal Albert Hall, Tokyo Opera City, Tel Aviv Opera House, Mariinsky Theatre, Wiener Konzerthaus, National Concert Hall Taipei, Dijon Opera House, Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg and the Cité de la Musique, Paris. Emily is heard regularly on international TV and radio including MPR, the BBC and Classic FM; recent highlights include performing J.S. Bach's Motets live on BBC Radio 3 for the Cambridge Early Music Festival and Jonathan Dove's The Passing of the Year at St. John's, Smith Square for BBC Radio 3. A Decca Classics Recording Artist, she has had three albums reach the top of the classical charts.
As a soloist Emily particularly enjoys performing Baroque repertoire. Recent solo performances include Belinda (Dido and Aeneas) at the St Magnus International Festival, First Witch (Dido and Aeneas) at the Utrecht Early Music Festival with L'Arpeggiata, Handel Dixit Dominus with the London Choral Sinfonia and with The Gabrieli Consort, Haydn Nelson Mass in Houston, Texas, Handel Messiah and Vivaldi Magnificat in Stockholm, Sweden, Mozart Requiem and Bach Magnificat at the Milton Abbey International Festival and Monteverdi Il Sesto Libro de Madrigali at the Wigmore Hall.
As a conductor and vocal coach Emily is known for her interesting arrangements and versatility. She is the Choral Conducting Fellow at St Martin-in-the-Fields, an adviser to the Rhinegold Music & Drama Education Expo and directs singing workshops and courses in the UK and abroad. Recent work includes Islington Choral Society, Amersham Chorale, Croydon Philharmonic Choir, Derbyshire Music Service, Occam Singers, Eton Choral Courses, Southwell Minster Girls' Choir, City of London Festival, St Andrews University, Aldeburgh Music, The London Youth Choir, Swaledale Festival, Chorakademie Dortmund and Erfurt, and directing many of the UK and international VOCES8 projects.
Emily studies singing with Gary Coward and Jessica Cash and is the grateful recipient of a Career Development Award from Help Musicians UK.
