Soprano
​
"Blessed with a voice of pristine clarity" Penelope is a natural performer, story teller and a specialist in early music.
Penelope is a highly versatile and creative musician, known for the clarity and agility of her voice, her stylish interpretations of historical repertoire and her adaptability between styles. (She is also known for ending up playing a tambourine in performances with surprising regularity!)​ Comfortable in genres from polyphony to pop and everything in between, she performs internationally as a soloist and ensemble singer, frequently described as "communicating a real sense of joy" on stage.
​​
She has performed at prestigious venues internationally as both soloist, choral and consort singer, in oratorio and with groups including the Taverner Consort, the Monteverdi Choir, The New London Consort, The Academy of Ancient Music, The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Wiener Akademie, Arcangelo, Armonico Consort, Ex Cathedra and the Royal Shakespeare Company, among others, and appears on numerous recordings. Operatic roles have included Cupid (Venus and Adonis) Dorinda (The Tempest) Shepherdess and Siren (King Arthur) Bonvica (Bonduca) Pallas (Judgement of Paris) Second Woman (Dido and Aeneas) Mopsa (Fairy Queen) and Belinda (Dido and Aeneas). She is lucky to have collaborated with many of the most eminent early music specialists in the UK and beyond.​
​​​
"Thank you for making everyone happy in "Rejoice"
- it was the most joyful I've ever heard it!"
- Conductor, Bath Choral Society Messiah 2024 (Bath Abbey)
"An attractive blend of innocence & worldliness, she communicates a real sense of joy."
- Catherine Bott
As a recitalist she has performed with many period ensembles and made her solo debut at Cadogan Hall with extracts from King Arthur, deputising for Dame Emma Kirkby. She has given recitals at Handel House, performed Purcell songs at St John’s Smith Square, given recitals for the National Lute Society and Medieval and Renaissance Society, is a member of the ensemble Dowland Works, and has appeared as a soloist on Radio3's Early Music Show. She recently performed for the Global Jane Austen conference at The University of Southampton with Ensemble Hespiri.
​
Penelope sings with Apollo5, with whom she has a busy international schedule and with whom she has appeared on several critically acclaimed albums. She enjoys composing and arranging, her arrangement of Sarah McLachlan’s ‘Angel’ appearing on their album Haven and her arrangement of Tom Petty/Walin’ Jennies 'Wildflowers’ on album Anam. The sheet music for these songs is now published and available to buy online. Her version of folk song ‘The Snow it Melts the Soonest’ has featured on Live from London, and sea shanty 'Row On Another Day' will appear on forthcoming album Crossings.
​​
Penelope has a particular love for chamber music has co-founded two ensembles, Fair Oriana and The Little Song Party. Being an experienced writer, she enjoys creating original scripts and, combined with historical research and a hint of theatre, curates unique and entertaining programmes that are informative as well as fun. For Fair Oriana she recently wrote an entire script in rhyming couplets for their new programme ‘Venus’, which premiered in the 2024 Resonanzen Festival at Vienna’s Konzerthaus. Fair Oriana has released debut album Two Voices and have been featured online by Classic FM, on Radio 3, and have appeared in prestigious festivals and venues throughout the UK and Europe. New for 2025 is collaboration with pianist Jonathan Delbridge, The Little Song Party, which champions domestic music and the square piano. Sense & Musicality is an intimate, semi-staged recital about music in the life and works of Jane Austen. As part of this programme she has commissioned 'Ode to Pity', a setting of Austen's teenage poem, by composer Donna McKevitt. In their first few months they have already given sold out performances at the Newbury Spring Festival and Jane Austen's House, and have had two tracks feature on BBC Radio3's Breakfast Show.
​​​​
Penelope was awarded a Distinction for her Postgraduate course in Vocal & Operatic studies from the Birmingham Conservatoire in 2010. She studied with Christine Cairns and received an award for specialist historical vocal tuition with tenor Andrew King. She won First Prize in the early music competition, and reached the finals of two national English Song competitions. Prior to this she gained a First Class degree in English and Music followed by a Distinction for her MA in Vocal Performance at the University of Chichester. She also holds the Dip.ABRSM on flute. In 2019 she was awarded Honorary Membership from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and returned in 2020 to coach early music vocal students.