Barihunk James Newby wins 2017 John Christie Award

James Newby (photo Ben Mckee)

British barihunk James Newby has been named as the 2017 recipient of Glyndebourne’s John Christie Award, an annual scholarship given to a promising young singer to fund private study.

Newby is a Jerwood Young Artist and was a member of the 2017 Glyndebourne Festival Chorus. He sang the roles of Marcellus/Player 4 in Hamlet, Messenger in La traviata and Notary in Don Pasquale in the 2017 festival; he also performed in the Chorus for all three of those productions, as well as La clemenza di Tito.

James Newby sings Finzi's "Come away, come away death":

A former student at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, he won the 2017 Trinity Gold Medal. He has been awarded the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment’s Rising Stars prize for the 2017/2018 season, and will perform regularly with the ensemble in programs at the South Bank, King’s Place and on tour.

In 2016, Newby won the Ferrier Award and was awarded the Wigmore Hall/Independent Opera Voice Fellowship, and in 2015 he won the Richard Tauber Prize and third prize at the Wigmore Hall/Kohn International Song Competition.

James Newby sings Schubert's "Der Jüngling und Der Tod":

The John Christie Award has been presented by the Worshipful Company of Musicians since 1965. Past winners include Gerald Finley (1989), Kate Royal (2004), Matthew Rose (2006), Allan Clayton (2008), barihunk Duncan Rock (2010) and Louise Alder (2014).

Newby was announced as the 2017 winner at the final performance of Glyndebourne Festival 2017 on August 27th.