biography

Victoria Oruwari - Soprano BMus Hons TCM and PGdip (Distinction)

Acclaimed Soprano Victoria Oruwari is a Nigerian born, London-based singer whose versatile repertoire covers art songs, operatic arias, songs from musical theatre, traditional folksongs and jazz.

Victoria will be touring with the ParaOrchestra in May 2022, performing Hannah Peel’s upcoming album “The Unfolding” at the following venues: Edinburgh Assembly Rooms, Sage Gateshead, London Barbican and Bluedot Festival.

Victoria's performance highlights include:

  • Wigmore Hall
    • Singing as part of the African Concert Series
  • Bath Abbey
    • Soloist for Gorecki’s “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs” with ParaOrchestra, conducted by Charles Hazelwood
  • BBC Radio 3
    • Presenting “Music’s Inner Vision”
  • Royal Opera House
    • Playing the role of “Mother” in the Royal Opera House and Candoco’s Christmas production of Shaun Tann’s “The Lost Thing”
  • St George’s, Bristol
    • Hannah Peel’s “The Unfolding” with the ParaOrchestra
  • The Barbican
    • Guest soloist for the “Play at Barbican” concert with the Army of Generals and the British ParaOrchestra conducted by Charles Hazelwood
  • Stoke Mandville
    • Singing at the Heritage Flame Event for the lighting of the Paralympic torch
  • Birmingham Symphony Hall
    • Singing with the British ParaOrchestra and the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
  • BBC6 Music Festival
    • Singing a duet with Jarvis Cocker
  • Birmingham Rep, Nottingham Playhouse, Yorkshire Playhouse, New Wolsey Theatre
    • Playing Mrs. Peachum in Graeae Theatre’s production of Kurt Weill's "Threepenny Opera"

Her television appearances include:

  • Sky Arts Channel - Charles Hazelwood’s documentary “Beethoven and Me”
  • Amazon Prime - Film documentary by Michael House - “Braille Music”
  • BBC1 - The One Show and All Together Now
  • Channel 4 - The Last Leg

Victoria also performs for corporate and private functions, at venues including The Kensington Palace Gallery, Theatre Royal Drury Lane, The Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Clothworker’s Hall, The Ferrari Museum in Modena, and the Agip Recital Hall in Lagos, Nigeria.

Victoria's work has attracted media interest, including Attitude TV, the world's leading provider of television content about the lives of people living with disabilities. She was the subject of two documentaries - The Soprano’s Colourful Sounds and Victoria’s Kiwi Adventure. She was then invited to Auckland-New Zealand to sing for the Attitude Trust Awards Night where she was accompanied by the Royal Navy Brass Band.

Early Years & Education

Victoria started singing at the age of eight after having piano lessons for over two years. Under the tutorship of music teacher Mr John Yekini, she developed her singing and was soon presented with the Pacelli School ensemble to perform at various national charity events in venues such as the National Art Theatre, and the MUSON Centre in Nigeria.

Victoria gained admission to Queen's College, Lagos where she started classical singing lessons with Miss Ada, the school’s music teacher. She performed as part of the Musical Society of Nigeria's Lunchtime Concert Series for young musicians.

College years

On moving to England Victoria attended New College Worcester, where she obtained A-levels in English, Sociology, and Music. She also started classical singing lessons with Amanda Ballard, a distinguished recitalist and teacher of singing in Worcester. Victoria also continued piano lessons with Angela Allard, a concert pianist from the Birmingham Conservatoire.

During her time at the College, she performed with her school choir in the Birmingham Symphony Hall, Worchester Cathedral, Huntingdon Hall, and the Queen Elizabeth Hall. She also gave recitals at the Eastnor Castle and St. Martins Church Worcester.

Undergraduate Years

In 2001, Victoria gained admission to Trinity College of Music (TCM) where she acquired her Bachelor of Music degree, then subsequently passed her Postgraduate with distinction. During her undergraduate years, Victoria was featured in the College's lunchtime concert series and performed various choral works with the TCM Choir. Such works included Britten's War Requiem, Tippet's Child of Our Time, and Tallis's Speminalium.

Her first opera role was that of the consultant in David Johnston's “Sorry False Alarm.” Victoria was also involved in outreach projects aimed at bringing music to the community, often running singing workshops and assisting classroom music teachers.

Her professors for singing were John Wakefield, Alistair Young, and Linda Hirst.

Postgraduate years

Victoria spent most of her postgraduate years mastering her art as an opera singer.

Her professors were Wendy Eathorne, Robert Aldwinkle and Linda Hirst.

She also had masterclasses with celebrated tenors and sopranos such as Richard Jackson, Nick Clapton, Nick Searsens, Omar Ibrahim, Alison Wells and Mary King. Victoria took acting lessons with soprano and music psychologist Dr. Jane Davidson.

Victoria was keen to broaden her repertoire to include musical theatre and jazz. She enrolled on the TCM musical theatre course under the direction of Robert Purvis, and had jazz singing lessons with jazz singer Victoria Newton. She was featured in the TCM musical theatre showcases at Blackheath Halls where she performed songs from various shows with the TCM Orchestra.

Awards and Scholarships

  • The Mark Plummer Award for hard work and fortitude
  • The Fletcher Butcher Award for distinguished musicianship
  • The Elizabeth Eagle Bott Memorial Scholarship
  • The Newman Thomas Commonwealth Award for outstanding progress
  • And the Eva Noreen Student Scholarship Award