Kathleen McKellar Ferguson
Mezzo Soprano
Kathleen McKellar Ferguson, originally from Thornhill, Stirling, is a graduate of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in both piano (with Lawrence Glover) and singing (with Elizabeth Izatt) and at the RCM London in singing with Marion Studholme.
Kathleen pursued post graduate studies in singing at the Royal College of Music in London with Marion Studholme. A Countess of Munster Scholarship enabled her to continue her studies with Margaret Hyde with whom she had a long association during her professional singing career.
Her varied singing career in both opera and on the concert platform has taken her all over the world, most notably on the concert platform to the Gstaad Festival (Beethoven symphony no 9), Festival of Sacred Music in Czestochowa in Poland, Mozart Festival in Vienna (Mozart Requiem), Orchestra of RAI in Milan, Tokyo Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, Orchestra of Euskede in Spain, St Petersburg Camerata (Messiah in the Hermitage Theatre and the Symphony Hall), Orchestra of the Theatre Royal de le Monnaie in Brussels (Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde).
In the UK she has sung with many of the leading orchestras including the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, London Bach Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, Bournemouth Sinfonietta, and the Orchestra of St John’s Smith Square. Recordings include Beethoven Symphony no 9 with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (also performed at the Royal Festival Hall at the 75th birthday concert of Sir Yehudi Menuhin in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen Mother), Lily Boulanger’s Au fond de l’Abime at the Three Choirs Festival for BBC Rado 3 and Handel’s Messiah in the Royal Albert Hall, London with the BBC Concert orchestra and Huddersfield Choral Society.
Recital work includes Theatre Royale de la Monnaie (Brussels), Queens Festival (Belfast) and in 1991 her Wigmore Hall debut to name but a few. She has also made numerous broadcasts for the BBC religious department and for BBC television a Christmas Day Celebration. In 1996 she released a recording of Scottish folk songs ‘Echoes of Scotland’ with her accompanist Peter Bailey.
Operatic Roles include Florence Pike (Albert Herring) at the Aldeburgh Festival, Marcellina and Cherubino (Marriage of Figaro) for Pavillion Opera and Clonter Opera, Mercedes (Carmen) for Clonter Opera, Maketaten (Akhnaten) for ENO, Suzuki (Madam Butterfly) for a tour of the Middle East and for Opera Forum in the Netherlands, Second Lady (Magic Flute) for the Theatre Royale de la Monnaie in Brussels and at the Aix-en Provence Festival with Les Arts Florissan under Sir William Christie, and Bradamante (Alcina) for Flanders Opera in Antwerp under Jos van Imerseel and for Zurich Opera under Niklaus Harnoncourt.
Kathleen has also taught singing at the Purcell School, St Paul’s Girls school, Beadales and Dollar Academy. She now lives in Kippen, near Stirling with her husband Grant and has been a vocal tutor at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland since 2001.