Pianist and vocal coach Dearbhla Collins has been appointed Assistant Head of Music at London’s National Opera Studio. The NOS provides training to singers and piano répétiteurs and works with six opera companies in the UK: English National Opera, Glyndebourne, Opera North, the Royal Opera House, Scottish Opera and Welsh National Opera. The role will see Collins as a key member of the artistic team where she will coach singers and répétiteurs, manage summer schools and develop the organisation’s educational outreach. 

Commenting on her appointment, Collins said:

I am absolutely delighted to have the opportunity to coach the next generation of opera singers and pianists in an organisation as prestigious as the National Opera Studio. I am also very much looking forward to increasing awareness of the work of NOS in Ireland and internationally, as I believe its courses should be on the radar of all budding young opera singers and répétiteurs.

Collins is known as a song pianist, accompanying leading Irish and international singers, with regular collaborations with mezzo-soprano Dame Ann Murray and German singer and director Brigitte Fassbaender. She is currently the senior vocal coach at the Royal Irish Academy of Music and the Artistic Director of the Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition. In previous roles, she has worked with Opera Ireland and NI Opera.

Mark Shanahan, NOS Head of Music said: 

We are constantly evolving at the National Opera Studio, responding to the ever-changing needs of our Young Artists as well as those of the opera industry, and the role of the Assistant Head of Music, in shaping the delivery of this response, is of the utmost importance. As such, we took the process of finding the right musician very seriously. I am delighted that Dearbhla has agreed to join us, in addition to her international engagements, and I know that she will be inspirational for our Young Artists.

For more on the National Opera Studio, visit www.nationaloperastudio.org.uk.