Aaron O'Hare wins Northern Ireland Festival of Voice Competition

Aaron O'Hare

Aaron O'Hare from Warrenpoint in County Down kept the baritone winning streak alive at the Northern Ireland Festival of Voice Competition, winning a year after Seán Boylan took top honors.  The competition returned to the historic village of Glenarm for the fifth year and included a recital from Boylan on Friday night.

O'Hare was one of five singers in the finals, which included mezzo-soprano Katie Hainbach from Dublin, sopranos Maria McGrann from Moira and Aoife O’Connell from Greystones, and fellow baritone Cormac Lawlor from Tralee.

Aaron O’Hare completed his Bachelor's Degree in Music with honors at the University of Ulster in 2011. He is now in his second year of A Masters in Music Degree at the Royal Northern College of Music after being awarded the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music Entrance Scholarship. O'Hare has worked with leading companies in Ireland, including NI Opera, North West Opera, and Wide Open Opera as well as Nevill Holt Opera in England. In 2012-13 he was a member of the Northern Ireland Opera’s Young Artist Scheme and appeared at the Oxford Lieder Festival, representing the Royal Northern College of Music.

Recent performances include: Demetrius in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Bogdanovitch in Lehar’s The Merry Widow with the Royal Northern College of Music.