About Lena
Welsh-born Lena Phillips has had a long and distinguished career as a singer, working internationally in Classical Recitals, Opera and more recently as a Cabaret and Jazz singer.
Recitals and concerts have taken Lena all over the world including tours of Israel, Greece, Morocco, Moscow and the USA, where she made her Carnegie Hall debut in 1986. During a successful tour of Italy she had the honour of being invited to sing before the Pope. Other performances include four Wigmore Hall recitals and over 30 concerts at the Purcell Room.
In 1984 Lena won the Richmond Ryke prize at the Edinburgh festival for her one-woman show 'upstairs and downstairs'. Her subsequent show I'll sing it my way' won the prestigious Sybil Thorndike award in 2000 and was repeated in Edinburgh last year. Lena has also appeared in the character role of Aunt Mariah on HTV's children programme 'bits and pieces' and has continued to relive the part in arts festivals, bringing songs to children.
The recipient of many awards, she was the joint winner in Paris of the Del Mar Journaux prize, after which she became a visiting professor at the Paris Conservatoire for two years. She has also held appointments as head of singing at Colchester institute and professor at Trinity College of music, London.
Since 1975 she has been in great demand teaching singers of all ages and abilities at Arca Residential Colleges around England. Lena directs the annual Sussex Singers Summer School, adjudicates and maintains an extensive private teaching practice in Sussex and Devon.
Her particular love of English song inspired her to found and direct the National Festival of English Song and she has given three live Master Classes on this subject on Classic FM.
In 1977 she founded the Lena Phillips Opera Workshop for children and a year later began presenting opera workshops for children at the south bank and at the Edinburgh Festival. On three occasions, in 1989, 1994 and 2001, she has been awarded the Steiner Scholarship for her work with young voices, and regularly presents a series of concerts featuring young people under the heading 'Voices of Youth'.
In 1997 she formed an unusual all women opera group 'Petticoat Opera', winning the Foodham Whittaker Prize in 2006.
Over the years these events have raised substantial sums for various charities.
In her limited free time Lena enjoys travel, theatre visits, antiques and has become a teddy collector.
Lena The Teacher
- Visiting English Song Professor, Paris Conservatoire (1975 - 1978)
Teaching Appointments between 1986 - 1998
- Head of Singing School of Music, Colchester Institue
- Singing Teacher, Lewes Academy of Music
- Professor of Singing, Trinity College of Music, London
- Singing Teacher Glendale Theatre Arts School
Evening Class
- Solo Singers (Worthing) since 1987.
Singing Courses
Since 1975 Lena has run over 600 Residential Courses at Colleges all over the Country. The Courses vary from Workshops to Jazz, Opera, Leider, English Song, Music Theatre etc.
Lena The Singer
Born into a musical family I was awarded a full-time scholarship to study with Diana Vernon at Hove Academy – Later studying with Duncan Robertson and then Constance Shacklock.
Much time was spent developing recital work. Leider was studied with Trudie Skelton and Ilsa Wolf.
In the sixties a singer’s career had to be purely classical and I decided to be known as an oratorio and recital singer. This proved very successful working with many of the leading conductors and performing over three hundred recitals, four being at prestigious Wigmore Hall and eleven at the Purcell Room.
In 1974 I broke into the field of opera and performed leading roles with the Phoenix Opera, Viking Opera, Opera for All, Hammersmith Opera and others.
Having worked with children in Opera I founded the Lena Phillips Workshop for children little did I know that what I was taking on was going to almost take over my life. Concerts of children’s works such as Lets Make an Opera and Noyes Fludde was followed by working with Malcolm Williamson, Donald Swann and many other composers. It was Donald Swann who suggested that I should invite School Choirs to present an afternoon of his Childrens Opera 'The Song of Cademan' thus at the Royal Festival Hall in 1980 The Voices of Youth Concerts were born, the 180th Concert took place in June 2008.
In 1984, feeling my career was stale I presented a one women show 'Upstairs and Downstairs' a Potpourri of Victorian Ballads, touring the show to musical clubs and art festivals. Then at Edinburgh Festival Fringe I was awarded the Richmond Ryke Prize for best one person show. Performances of this show then took me to Moscow, New York and all across Europe. The pianist Pamela Keely-Eaton suggested that I should sing some Jazz and a different world of music opened up to me.
From 1981 – 1987 I had a contract to Hilton Partnership singing Jazz in the British Isles, Europe and America. ’86 must have been a lucky year making my Carnigee Hall debut and honoured in being invited to sing to the Pope while on tour in Italy.
In the last few years I have presented three more one women shows with Marcus Martin, the show 'I'll Sing it My Way' was given the Sybil Thorndike Prize.
I have been very fortunate as singing has opened many doors for me.