Sounds of music delight church audience
A rising opera star has launched a new season of popular recitals at a Staffordshire church.
Soprano Grace Marie Wyatt delighted music lovers at St Mary's Church in Stafford with an hour-long performance which earned a standing ovation.
From Hednesford, Grace Marie is now making her way as a professional singer whilst studying at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
She said of Saturday's Coffee Concert: "I loved it, St Mary's is a beautiful church, it's a lovely place to sing."
The 24-year-old sang three arias by Richard Strauss, ending with a couple of Rodgers and Hammerstein show songs, Mister Snow from the musical Carousel and I Have Dreamed from The King And I.
And accompanying her on piano was her first singing teacher Margaret Outen from Chase Academy in Cannock who taught her from the age of 11.
In her teenage years, Grace Marie won many competitions around the Midlands, and performed at the Birmingham Symphony Hall as a soloist with the Birmingham Musical Theatre Choir.
The talented student went on to study the Junior Royal Northern College of Music for five years achieving distinction in voice, clarinet and piano. She secured a place at the Royal Welsh College of Music before joining the Royal Academy in September for two years post-graduate studies and hopes to stay on for a further two years to do an opera course.
With a passion for both musical theatre and opera, she has played roles such as Anna in The King and I, Liesl in The Sound of Music and Cosette in Les Misérables and has sung with the Welsh National Opera.
Highlights of her career so far include performing with Carlos Acosta at Wales Millennium Centre, singing at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms and playing the role of Li in the WNO Youth Opera production of Kommilitonen!
After Saturday's recital, Grace Marie tweeted: "Wonderful lunchtime concert yesterday morning at St.Mary’s Church in Staffordshire 🎵 I was so happy to be accompanied by my first singing teacher and very good friend, Margaret Outen."
It was the first in a series of free recitals that take place regularly on Saturdays at 11am between January and November which raise money through retiring collections to support music at the church. This Saturday will see a performance from Jenny Pearson on cello and John Savage on piano.
