Juliette Pochin
Encyclopedia
Juliette Pochin is a Welsh
classically trained mezzo-soprano
singer, composer/arranger, and record producer. She is known not only for her performances in operas and as a recitalist, but also for her recordings of operatically-styled crossover music
.
, Pochin attended the Royal Academy of Music
(Junior Academy) and the Wells Cathedral School
. She went on to read music at Trinity College, Cambridge
as a choral scholar and also trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
. In 2005 she was signed by Sony BMG to record her debut album, Venezia, released in 2006 as Classic FM
's "Record Of The Week". Five months after the album's release, the British owned chocolatiers, Hotel Chocolat
introduced a new chocolate range named for her, inspired by a description of her voice in The Times
as "sounding like melted chocolate".
Pochin is married to the conductor and composer, James Morgan. The couple met at Cambridge University and first worked together composing for the Footlights
. They went on to form Morgan Pochin Music Productions
as well as writing and producing Katherine Jenkins
' debut album Premiere
. In addition to Katherine Jenkins' Premiere, the company also produced The King's Singers' album Swimming Over London, Pochin's solo album Venezia, Brian Knowles' Poetry Serenade, and Classic FM
's Songs Without Words. Morgan and Pochin arranged the tracks "Lucrezia" (based on "Gia nel seno" from Handel's cantata La Lucrezia) and "Pace non trovo" (a vocal adaptation of Alessandro Marcello
's Oboe Concerto) on Danielle De Niese
's 2010 album, Diva. Their choral composition Kubla Khan had its world premiere at the 2002 Brighton Festival
. In 2010, Morgan Pochin adapted Mozart's music into a modern film score for a new British film based on his opera Così fan tutte
. The film's working title is First Night and stars Richard E. Grant
and Sarah Brightman
. The film soundtrack album, arranged and produced by Morgan Pochin, was released on the Sony label in October 2011
In 2010 Morgan Pochin produced "Bring him Home", the latest Decca Records album from Alfie Boe
. In 2011, Morgan Pochin produced various tracks for Joe McElderry
's second studio album Classic
. The album reached number two in the UK charts 3rd Sept 2011 In late 2011 Morgan Pochin produced "Alfie", a second album for Alfie Boe
on Decca records
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
classically trained mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
singer, composer/arranger, and record producer. She is known not only for her performances in operas and as a recitalist, but also for her recordings of operatically-styled crossover music
Crossover (music)
Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers appearing on two or more of the record charts which track differing musical tastes, or genres...
.
Biography and career
Born in HaverfordwestHaverfordwest
Haverfordwest is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales and serves as the County's principal commercial and administrative centre. Haverfordwest is the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire, with a population of 13,367 in 2001; though its community boundaries make it the second most populous...
, Pochin attended the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
(Junior Academy) and the Wells Cathedral School
Wells Cathedral School
Wells Cathedral School is a co-educational independent school located in Wells, Somerset, England. The school is one of the five established musical schools for school-age children in the United Kingdom, along with Chetham's School of Music, the Yehudi Menuhin School, the Purcell School and St....
. She went on to read music at Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
as a choral scholar and also trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama is an independent music and dramatic arts school which was founded in 1880 in London, England. Students can pursue courses in Music, Opera, Drama and Technical Theatre Arts.-History:...
. In 2005 she was signed by Sony BMG to record her debut album, Venezia, released in 2006 as Classic FM
Classic FM (UK)
Classic FM, one of the United Kingdom's three Independent National Radio stations, broadcasts classical music in a popular and accessible style.-Overview:...
's "Record Of The Week". Five months after the album's release, the British owned chocolatiers, Hotel Chocolat
Hotel Chocolat
Hotel Chocolat is a British chocolatier and cocoa grower, with 55 stores in the United Kingdom and 5 stores within the U.S.A. and the Middle East.To this day, Hotel Chocolat are the only company in the United Kingdom to grow cocoa on their own plantation....
introduced a new chocolate range named for her, inspired by a description of her voice in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
as "sounding like melted chocolate".
Pochin is married to the conductor and composer, James Morgan. The couple met at Cambridge University and first worked together composing for the Footlights
Footlights
Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club, commonly referred to simply as the Footlights, is an amateur theatrical club in Cambridge, England, founded in 1883 and run by the students of Cambridge University....
. They went on to form Morgan Pochin Music Productions
Morgan Pochin Music Productions
Morgan Pochin Music Productions is a UK based company. Its founders James Morgan and Juliette Pochin produce recordings as well as composing original works and arranging music. The Morgan Pochin partnership has composed and arranged music for several television shows including The Kumars at No. 42The Kumars at No. 42
The Kumars at No. 42 was a British television show. It won an International Emmy in 2002 and in 2003. It ran for seven series totalling 53 episodes.-Plot:...
as well as writing and producing Katherine Jenkins
Katherine Jenkins
Katherine Jenkins is a Welsh mezzo-soprano. She is a classical-popular crossover singer who performs across a spectrum of operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre and hymns.-Early life and education:...
' debut album Premiere
Premiere (Katherine Jenkins album)
Premiere is the debut album by Welsh mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins, released on 5 April 2004, in the UK. It charted at number 31 on the UK Albums Chart and at number 1 on the UK Classical Album Chart.- Track listing :# "Questo E Per Te" 3:39...
. In addition to Katherine Jenkins' Premiere, the company also produced The King's Singers' album Swimming Over London, Pochin's solo album Venezia, Brian Knowles' Poetry Serenade, and Classic FM
Classic FM (UK)
Classic FM, one of the United Kingdom's three Independent National Radio stations, broadcasts classical music in a popular and accessible style.-Overview:...
's Songs Without Words. Morgan and Pochin arranged the tracks "Lucrezia" (based on "Gia nel seno" from Handel's cantata La Lucrezia) and "Pace non trovo" (a vocal adaptation of Alessandro Marcello
Alessandro Marcello
Alessandro Marcello was an Italian nobleman, poet, philosopher, mathematician and musician.-Biography:...
's Oboe Concerto) on Danielle De Niese
Danielle de Niese
Danielle de Niese is a lyric soprano. After success as a young child in singing competitions in Australia, she moved to the USA where she developed an operatic career...
's 2010 album, Diva. Their choral composition Kubla Khan had its world premiere at the 2002 Brighton Festival
Brighton Festival
The Brighton Festival is an annual arts festival which takes place in the city of Brighton and Hove in England each May. It was founded in 1966, and is the largest multi-art form festival in England...
. In 2010, Morgan Pochin adapted Mozart's music into a modern film score for a new British film based on his opera Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti K. 588, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart first performed in 1790. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte....
. The film's working title is First Night and stars Richard E. Grant
Richard E. Grant
Richard E. Grant is a Swaziland-born British actor, screenwriter and director. His most notable role came in the film Withnail and I. He holds dual British and Swazi citizenship.-Early life:...
and Sarah Brightman
Sarah Brightman
Sarah Brightman is an English classical crossover soprano, actress, songwriter and dancer. She is famous for possessing a vocal range of over 3 octaves and singing in the whistle register...
. The film soundtrack album, arranged and produced by Morgan Pochin, was released on the Sony label in October 2011
In 2010 Morgan Pochin produced "Bring him Home", the latest Decca Records album from Alfie Boe
Alfie Boe
Alfred Giovanni Roncalli Boe, known professionally initially as Alf or Alfred Boe and now as Alfie Boe, , is an English tenor.-Background:...
. In 2011, Morgan Pochin produced various tracks for Joe McElderry
Joe McElderry
Joseph "Joe" McElderry is an English singer and model. He won the sixth series of the ITV show The X Factor in 2009. His first single "The Climb" reached number one on the UK Singles Chart and Irish Singles Charts. He was also crowned the winner of the second series of Popstar to Operastar, two...
's second studio album Classic
Classic (Joe McElderry album)
Classic is the second studio album by British singer Joe McElderry. It was released by Decca Records on 19 August 2011 in Ireland and on 22 August 2011 in the United Kingdom...
. The album reached number two in the UK charts 3rd Sept 2011 In late 2011 Morgan Pochin produced "Alfie", a second album for Alfie Boe
Alfie Boe
Alfred Giovanni Roncalli Boe, known professionally initially as Alf or Alfred Boe and now as Alfie Boe, , is an English tenor.-Background:...
on Decca records
As performer
- Venezia (selections from Vivaldi's sonnets sung to the music of his The Four SeasonsThe Four Seasons (Vivaldi)The Four Seasons is a set of four violin concertos by Antonio Vivaldi. Composed in 1723, The Four Seasons is Vivaldi's best-known work, and is among the most popular pieces of Baroque music. The texture of each concerto is varied, each resembling its respective season...
). Label: Sony/BMG. - The Sky Shall Be Our Roof (rare songs from the operas of Ralph Vaughan WilliamsRalph Vaughan WilliamsRalph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
) – Sarah FoxSarah FoxSarah Fox is an English operatic soprano who has performed at several of the world’s leading opera houses, notably the Royal Opera House Covent Garden. She was educated at the University of London and the Royal College of Music in London...
(soprano), Juliette Pochin (mezzo-soprano), Andrew Staples (tenor), Roderick Williams (baritone), Iain BurnsideIain BurnsideIain Burnside is a Scottish pianist and presenter on BBC Radio 3.Following study at Oxford University, the Royal Academy of Music and the Chopin Academy in Warsaw he became a freelance pianist, specialising particularly in song repertoire. He has collaborated with many singers, and was particularly...
(piano). Label: Albion Records - Poetry Serenade (English poems set by composer Brian Knowles) – Jon ChristosJon ChristosJon Christos is an English singer and local radio presenter.A classically trained tenor, he is best known for an album of operatically-styled crossover music.-Early years and education :...
(tenor), Nick Garrett (bass-baritone), Juliette Pochin (mezzo-soprano), Elin Manahan ThomasElin Manahan Thomas-Biography:Thomas was born in 1977 in Gorseinon near Swansea, the daughter of M. Wynn Thomas OBE, a Professor of Literature at Swansea University, and Karen Thomas. She was educated at the Welsh-speaking Ysgol Gyfun Gŵyr in Gowerton near Swansea, and by the time she was fifteen was singing in the...
(soprano); City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, James Morgan (conductor). Label: Signum records.
External links
- Juliette Pochin - The Domestic Diva (official website)
- Morgan Pochin on BDi Music publishers
- Morgan Pochin (official website)
- Diary of a Domestic Diva blog (blog)