Mark Chaundy
Mark Chaundy (tenor, Bajazet in Tamerlano) sang as a chorister in the Choir of St David's Cathedral, Cardiff, while studying piano and organ. He later won an award through the South Glamorgan Youth Choir, which funded singing lessons at the Welsh College of Music and Drama, before gaining a Choral Scholarship to Magdalen College, Oxford. In 1999 he took up a place as a baritone at the Royal College of Music, where he was supported by the Countess of Munster Trust and the Arts Council of Wales; he studied with Neil Mackie and Ryland Davies. In 2001 he was a Fellow at Tanglewood where he worked with Phyllis Curtain. He now learns with Joy Mammen. Concert appearances include: Bach's St John Passion with Peter Schreier; a performance with the Wallace Collection and David Wilson-Johnson at the Wigmore Hall; Kurt Weill's Seven Deadly Sins with Cleo Laine; and concerts with the London Mozart Players. Recital highlights include: a programme of music by Britten with Roger Vignoles; working with Ned Rorem on a performance of his songs at Tanglewood; and a fund-raising concert with Dame Felicity Lott. He has won a National Federation of Music Societies Award. Recent performances include Mendelssohn's Elijah, Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle, Janácek's Psalmus Hungaricus, and a tour with Essential Scottish Opera. He was a member of the chorus at the Glyndebourne Festival and went on to perform First Trojan Man in Mozart's Idomeneo and Giuseppe in Verdi's La Traviata for Glyndebourne on Tour. Most recently Mark was an Associate Artist with Welsh National Opera, supported by the Chris Ball Bursary; he has understudied Lenski in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, Kudrjás in Janácek's Kát'a Kabanová, Scaramuccio in Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos, and he performed Roderigo in Verdi's Otello in WNO's opening gala in the Millennium Centre. Future plans include: a week of masterclasses with Thomas Allen at the Samling Foundation; a performance of Tippett's Tempest Suite with the Orchestra of the Swan; and a recital with Michael Pollock at St David's Hall. He will return to WNO to understudy the Duke in Verdi's Rigoletto. He lives in Islington with several friends and a rather old piano.