Emma Kirkby

Emma Kirkby’s singing career came as a surprise. As a student of Classics at university she sang a great deal for pleasure – and still does. She works mostly with historical instruments, and has enjoyed long partnerships with British groups: The Academy of Ancient Music, the Consort of Musicke, London Baroque, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Florilegium, and many other ensembles worldwide. In recent years her recordings came to the attention of Classic FM listeners who voted her artist of the year in 1999; and in 2000 she was awarded the Order of the British Empire. 2007 brought further surprises: in April a BBC Music Magazine poll of critics to find the ‘100 greatest sopranos’ put her at No.10; in July she was the subject of a South Bank Show on ITV, and in November she became a Dame. Shocked but delighted by all this, she is glad of the recognition it implies for a way of music-making that values ensemble, clarity and stillness above the more usual factors of volume and display, and above all she is grateful for the chance to carry on sharing this marvellous repertoire with like-minded and talented colleagues.