In operatic Masterclass she has performed for Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Malcolm Martinu, Graham Pushee, Margreta Elkins and worked privately with Barbara Bonney, Rudolf Piernay, Graham Johnson and Lillian Watson.

She was a finalist in 2007 for the Patricia Routledge National English Song Competition and winner of the New Zealand AIMES Award for Music. Her academic prizes include The Penman Prize for operatic ensemble performance, the Linda Edith Allen Scholarship, and the Elizabeth Muir Memorial Prize. Throughout her studies in London she has been generously supported by the Elizabeth Sweeting Award, the Worshipful Company of Vintners and the Worshipful Company of Brewers and the Kathleen Trust.

She holds an Exhibition Award and Bronze Medal for Highest Marks in Vocal examinations from the Trinity College of Music. In 2011 Tanya became an International Ambassador for the Concordia Foundation. In this role she travelled to Vietnam with Concordia as part of the Lord mayor of London’s Mayoral Tour. She performed in a Gala evening at the Hanoi Opera House with the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet. She also presented workshops with the young artists of the Vietnam National Opera and the Music Academy. Also this year, Tanya has been selected for the Mentorship Program with Concordia. Not only will she appear in the Foundation’s concert programme this year but is also a part of the creative team. She is assisting and gaining skills in running an arts charity, finance and sponsorship as well as creative development and the development of the education programmes for 2011-12.

In 2011 Tanya gratefully received an Honours Award from the Honours Board of Rangitoto College for her Achievements in the Performing Arts.

EDUCATOR AND PRODUCER/ DIRECTOR

Tanya created her first education outreach project in 2011 for the 7th Concordia Young Audiences programme. Tanya created a teaching manual with lesson plans including SEAL Themes which covered three Classroom sessions culminating in a live performance at Wilton’s Music Hall which she directed and designed with assistance from Rosie Mayhew and Michelle Leong. The performance included mime, traditional story-telling and live music as well as participation from the children through songs, chants and rhythms that the children had been taught during classroom sessions. The project was concluded with a final session entitled ‘Little Critics which Tanya created to encourage writing and literacy skills. The children were guided towards writing their own critique of the performance including an analysis of their own participation and focussing on assessing how well the performance achieved set aims and presented the moral which was working together and putting people before material gain. Tanya is now working towards developing further educational shows with Concordia and Rosie Mayhew in London and Australia.

THE PIED PIPER OF TOWER HAMLETS

Director and Designer: Tanya Cooling

“Cloak of Rats” Designed and Manipulated by: Rosie Mayhew

and Michelle Leong

Narrator and Presenter: Tanya Cooling

Co-Presenter and Flute: Abigail Burrows

Inkmen: Richard Maxted and Tom Radford

Violin: Edgar Bailey

Guitar: Tom McLauchlan

Concordia’s idea to present the “Pied Piper of Tower Hamlets” provided an innovative platform for Tanya Cooling to create an exciting new experience for children of this famous fairytale. During five sessions led by Tanya and her team in schools in Tower Hamlets the children’s activities will include making and decorating drums and shakers from collected recyclable objects, combining simple British and African Songs: “The Jambo Song” and “Walking through Africa”. The children will participate in a live performance at Wilton’s Music Hall with their hand-made musical instruments and Pied Piper inspired artwork.

In a new literacy initiative created by Tanya Cooling entitled “Little Critics” Tanya will guide the children in creating their own critique of the performance. Teaching them to write imaginatively and descriptively about what they had seen and heard and how it made them feel. Click here to watch a video of the show.

Tanya was the Artistic Director of the World Citizen Soloists, an ensemble she formed in 2009 to promote chamber music for voice and ensemble. The ensemble performed many successful concerts around London as well as community music education projects.

Her interests in promoting classical music through education have included working with education professionals such as Dr. Meribeth Dayme Ph.D and author of “The Performers Voice: Realizing Your Vocal Potential”. During her Fellowship, she lectured in song classes for the second year under-graduate students at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. While performing in Valencia she also gave a lecture on Art Song Performance to Masters and PhD students of the Universidad Politecnica di Valencia.

VOICE OVERS AND FILM

Tanya is a versatile musician and been involved in film scoring and vocal effects since 2007. Tanya made her film debut and recorded arias for the BBC and Paramount production of “The Duchess” starring Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes released in November 2008. She has been working with Utopian Games and Ben Reason Composition since 2009 creating vocal effects and scripts for “Bumps” for PC which was released in Britain and America in 2009, “Running Wild” and “Shadowrun” released in iStore in 2010 by Utopian games.

JOURNALISM

An active journalist, Tanya writes regular columns for the Arts publication MORPH Magazine, based in New Zealand.

This biography must not be reprinted for promotional material. Tanya’s C.V. is available on request to professional organisations.

Her passion for literature and music encouraged her to begin a Master of Music research at the Sydney Conservatorium where she was studying and comparing the genesis of the German Lied and the American Art Song and received the Brenda Elizabeth Edgerton Scholarship. However when her audition at the Guildhall School was successful she moved immediately to London. Tanya was selected as a 2007 Young Songmaker performing with Graham Johnson at St John's Smith Square and has since performed as a recitalist in such venues as the Barbican Centre both in chamber concert and with the London Symphony Orchestra, Cadogan Hall, Wigmore Hall, The Queen Elizabeth Hall with conductor John Wilson, King’s Place and the Palau de la Musica, Valencia. She has also regularly given recitals at St Martin-In-The-Fields and St James’s Piccadilly. Her Festival appearances include the City of London Festival, the Elizabeth Maconchy Festival and both the Chelsea Schubert Festival and the Oxford Lieder Festival. Her operatic work in Europw has included covering the role of Miss Schlesen in Philip Glass’s Satyagraha for the English National Opera. She debuted in the role of Violetta (La Traviata) for riverside Opera in 2009 and continued to perform the role on tour with Garden Opera in 2010. She has performed Iphis and The Angel (Handel’s Jephtha - Grimeborn Festival 2009), The Controller (Flight, cover British Youth Opera), Adina (L’Elisir d’amore, cover British Youth Opera), Olympia (Erwin und Elmire - Lieder Theatre Opera) performing this role on stage in Germany as well as in a Feature Film broadcast on German National Television Stations. In contemporary opera, Tanya created the role of Sue in “Spilt Milk” at the 2010 Grimeborn Festival and Andromache in “Astyanax” at the 2008 Grimeborn Festival both by Timothy Burke. She performed the role of Elana in The Crocodile by Llywellen ap Myrrdin for the London stage premiere at the Grimeborn Festival 2007.

Biography

(Click photo to enlarge)

Tanya Cooling

Soprano

“Precision, agility and beautiful melodic line...” Cecilia McDowall, acclaimed British composer

Tanya recorded Mozart’s “Un moto di gioja” heard in “The Duchess” under the musical direction of Rick Wentworth.