Frances Jellard (Mezzo-soprano)

Born: Plymouth, Devon, England

The English-born Canadian mezzo-soprano, Frances Jellard, was educated in Edmonton, Canada. While studying for her degrees in Music and Drama at the University of Alberta, she sang with ConSept and Pro Coro Canada for Canadian and European tours. She entered the Royal College of Music on the postgraduate course and later joined the RCM Opera School; as a student she won several prizes, including the Contralto Repertoire Award in Ballymena, Northern Ireland.

A member of many vocal ensembles, including the Wren Baroque Soloists and the Scholars Baroque Ensemble, Frances Jellard has toured the world and recorded extensively. She enjoys a wide variety of performing styles. She made her theatrical debut in the Old Vic production of Isaac Babel's Marya, and continues to do regular stage and opera work. She performs recitals of cabaret, music hall, and contemporary songs, and she has also recorded several soundtracks for film and television. In 1997, she made her debut in the BBC Promenade concerts as Camilla in Schubert's Die Verschworenen.

Frances Jellard teaches singing at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, St Paul's Boys' School and Latymer. She is in demand for vocal workshops in both the Netherlands and Canada. She enjoys teaching, and is a Mentor in the Monteverdi Choir Apprenticeship Scheme.

In 2011 and 2012 Frances Jellard sang with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. Recent (as of 2012) solo concerts include Haydn's Nelson Mass for Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Messiah for Nicholas McGegan, J.S. Bach's St. Matthew Passion (BWV 244) in Holland, and William Walton's Façade in St. John's Smith Square. Future engagements include Messiah in St David's Hall in Cardiff, Purcell with The Scholars Baroque Ensemble, at the Chatelet Theatre in Paris, and at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

Source: Zoominfo Website (from Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, December 16, 2011 & April 7, 2012)
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (July 2014)

Recordings of Bach Cantatas & Other Vocal Works

Conductor

As

Works

John Eliot Gardiner

Alto

Member of Monteverdi Choir:
BCP Vol. 1: CD-1: BWV 167, BWV 7, BWV 30
BCP Vol. 4: CD-1: BWV 9, J. Kuhnau/J.S. Bach: Motet Der Gerechte kömmt um
BCP Vol. 5: CD-2: BWV 46, BWV 101, BWV 102
BCP Vol. 9: CD-2: BWV 96, BWV 169, BWV 116
BCP Vol. 14: BWV 91, BWV 121, BWV 40, BWV 110
BCP Vol. 15: BWV 64, BWV 151, BWV 57, BWV 133
BCP Vol. 16: BWV 225, BWV 122, BWV 28, BWV 190
BCP Vol. 24: CD-1: BWV 12, BWV 103, BWV 146; CD-2: BWV 166, BWV 108, BWV 117
BCP Vol. 25: CD-1: BWV 86, BWV 87, BWV 97
BCP Trinity II: BWV 113, BWV 179

John Rutter

Alto

Member of Cambridge Singers:
V-1 (1993): BWV 225

Links to other Sites

Frances Jellard (Zoominfo)