Joanna Songi writes: “When Maconchy’s scores arrived from the archive of St Hilda’s College, Oxford, there was an unmistakable presence on the page. Handwritten, exquisitely crafted, and spanning quite the gamut of styles – I was captivated by these scores as soon as I set eyes upon them. For too long they had remained silent in the archive, despite richly deserving to be known and heard. Through recording Elizabeth Maconchy’s song, my ambition is to showcase the remarkable breadthof her musical language, and to bring a selection of these exceptional works to new audiences… In sharing these works with live audiences, I have frequently been met with incredulity that these pieces are not more regularly performed. Maconchy’s songs, which contain such remarkable intellectual passion and impassioned argument, are long overdue in reaching a wider audience. It is my immense joy and privilege to share them here with you.” Described as “an impressive young talent” by Opera Journal, and praised for having “both vocal beauty and bite” by the Observer. Joanna performed in Shakespeare’s Henry V at the Donmar Warehouse (2022) broadcast on NT Live. She regularly performs and records with the Dunedin Consort and The English Concert. She was awarded first place in the Dean & Chadlington Singing Competition (2019), the Brooks-Van der Pump English Song Competition (2013), and was a semi-finalist in the Das Lied Competition (2019), the Nadia et Lili Boulanger International Voice-Piano Competition (2019). She has performed song cycles as a soloist with the Chroma Ensemble and the United Strings of Europe, and has performed with companies including Glyndebourne, Garsington, West Green and Opera de Tenerife. Joanna graduated studied at Cambridge University, and completed a post-graduate course at the Royal College of Music. She was a Britten-Pears Young Artist, a Making Music Philip & Dorothy Green Young Concert Artist, and an Opera Prelude Young Artist.
