Kathleen Ferrier Society Bursary for Young Singers

The Bursary is a registered charity (number 1077586) and was established in 1996 and is open to vocal students just beginning their second year of study at each of the eight major Music Colleges in England, Scotland and Wales. Each college sends two singers who present a varied programme of no more than 18 minutes. The winner of the Bursary receives £3000 spread over three years. Owing to the generosity of Winifred Ferrier, other major donors, the Society is now able to give Second, Third and Accompanist's Prizes. Our President, Sheila Armstrong, chairs the panel of distinguished judges each year and she has proved to be devoted and supportive in the role and takes great interest in the progress and careers of the singers who take part in the Bursary competitions.

The Society continues to follow the careers not only of the winners of the Bursary Award but also of those who have taken part in the competition since it began in 1996 and news of the achievements of Bursary singers is regularly printed in the KFS newsletters. We are now seeing Bursary winners and finalists in the finals of the prestigious Kathleen Ferrier Awards, which was won in 2008 by Ben Johnson, winner of our Bursary Second Prize in 2003. Rhydian Roberts, our Bursary Winner in 2004, became a national name in 2008 when he was the hotly disputed runner-up in X Factor, once allowed to be himself in the show he was able to reveal the qualities which led to his winning our Bursary.

Bursary Trustees: Sylvia Alexander, Robert Langstaff, Shirley Parker, Kathleen Hopcroft.

Past Winners