Juliette Pochin

Last updated

Juliette Louise B. Pochin (born 1971) [1] is a Welsh classically trained mezzo-soprano singer, composer/arranger, and record producer. She is known not only for her performances in operas and as a classical recitalist but also for her recordings of operatically styled crossover music. Morgan Pochin Music Productions Ltd, the company she formed with her husband James Morgan, is known for its record productions for artists such as Katherine Jenkins and Alfie Boe, as well as its arrangements for film and television scores.

Contents

Biography and career

Born in Haverfordwest, Pochin attended the Royal Academy of Music (Junior Academy). She went on to read music at Trinity College, Cambridge as a choral scholar and also trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. [2] In 2005 she was signed by Sony BMG to record her debut album, Venezia, released in 2006 as Classic FM's "Record of the Week". [3] Five months after the album's release, the British owned chocolatiers, Hotel Chocolat introduced a new chocolate range named for her, inspired by a description of her voice in The Times as "sounding like melted chocolate". [4] She was the soloist for 3 years at the televised BBC Proms in the Park from Salford.

Pochin is married to the conductor and composer, James Morgan. The couple met at Cambridge University and first worked together composing for the Footlights. They went on to form Morgan Pochin Music Productions Ltd.

She is a regular orchestrator and musical director for BBC Radio 2 Piano Room.

Juliette's setting of Lemn Sissay's poem, Let There Be Peace, composed for the Brighton Festival, received its first live performance at Cadogan Hall in 2023.

Juliette wrote her first musical cabaret show, Music, Mayhem and a Mezzo during lockdown and is now a regular performer at The Crazy Coqs, The Pheasantry and Edinburgh Fringe Festival where she was Pick of the Fringe.

Morgan Pochin Music Productions

This music production company was founded by James Morgan and Juliette Pochin to produce recordings as well as compose original works for film and the concert platform.

Record Production

They have produced numerous albums that reached the Top 10 in the UK charts including: Luke Evans, A Song for You which reached No. 4 in the UK album charts, three studio albums for Alfie Boe, Joe McElderry's second studio album Classic which reached No. 2 in the UK charts and 100 Vera Lynn which peaked at No. 3 in the UK Charts.

Their album with the Poor Clares of Arundel, Light for the World debuted at No. 1 in the UK Classical music chart in October 2020, a position it retained for 19 weeks and reached No. 5 in the main UK Album chart. [5]

As Piano Hands, their piano duo, they released two albums for Rhino Records, (Warner Music) and can be regularly heard on Classic FM and Scala Radio.

Film and TV

In 2010, Morgan Pochin adapted Mozart's music into a modern film score for British film First Night based on his opera Così fan tutte and starring Richard E. Grant and Sarah Brightman. The film soundtrack album, arranged and produced by Morgan Pochin, was released on the Sony label in October 2011.

In 2012 Morgan Pochin produced the music for Dustin Hoffman's first film as director, Quartet – starring Maggie Smith, Billy Connolly, Tom Courtenay and Michael Gambon.

They also provided music for films including Operation Mincemeat, The Courier, and Ridley Scott's Killing Jesus.

They have composed and arranged music for several television shows including The Kumars at No. 42

Compositions

They were commissioned by the Brighton Festival to compose "The Great Enormo – a Kerfuffle in B flat for orchestra, soprano and wasps"; with words by Michael Rosen. It premiered with Michael Rosen as narrator, James Morgan as conductor, Juliette Pochin as soprano and the City of London Sinfonia. It has since been performed by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra at the Birmingham Symphony Hall, the Southbank Centre (Imagine Festival) and it has been translated into Portuguese for performances in Porto.

Their choral cantata Invictus was commissioned by Brighton Festival Chorus and performed by the City of London Sinfonia, Brighton Festival Chorus and Youth Choir, and massed children's choirs, and premiered at Brighton Dome in 2015 to mark the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta.

Their choral composition Kubla Khan had its world premiere at the 2002 , Brighton Festival [9]

Charity Work

In conjunction with Parkinson's UK, Morgan Pochin arranged two gala fundraising concerts "Symfunny 1 & Symfunny 2 at London's Royal Albert Hall. for which they were both awarded a Points of Light Award at 10 Downing Street from the Prime Minister.

Recordings

As performer

Morgan Pochin Discography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joby Talbot</span> British composer

Joby Talbot is a British composer. He has written for a wide variety of purposes, with a broad range of styles, including instrumental and vocal concert music, film and television scores, pop arrangements and works for dance. He is known, to sometimes disparate audiences, for quite different works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jake Heggie</span> American opera composer and pianist

Jake Heggie is an American composer of opera, vocal, orchestral, and chamber music. He is best known for his operas and art songs as well as for his collaborations with internationally renowned performers and writers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Hawes</span> British composer, conductor, organist and pianist

Patrick Hawes is a British composer, conductor, organist and pianist.

"Cavatina" is a 1970 classical guitar piece by British composer Stanley Myers based on music originally written for the soundtrack of the film The Walking Stick (1970). After Myers expanded the piece and it was recorded by guitarist John Williams, "Cavatina" was popularized as the theme from the 1978 film The Deer Hunter.

The Opera Babes are an English crossover classical music duo, consisting of Karen England, mezzo-soprano, and Rebecca Knight, soprano.

Richard Blackford is an English composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Voces8</span> British a cappella octet

Voces8, styled VOCES8, is an a cappella octet from England. They have appeared internationally and made recordings of classical music, jazz, pop, and their own arrangements. Recent recordings are for Decca Classics and under their own label, Voces8 Records. Educational efforts are run by the Voces8 Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfie Boe</span> English actor and singer (born 1973)

Alfred Giovanni Roncalli Boe is an English actor and singer who performs primarily in musical theatre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zehava Gal</span>

Zehava Gal is an Israeli-born operatic mezzo-soprano.

Roderick Gregory Coleman Williams OBE is a British baritone and composer.

<i>Classic</i> (Joe McElderry album) 2011 studio album by Joe McElderry

Classic is the second studio album by British singer Joe McElderry. It was released by Decca Records on 19 August 2011 in Ireland and on 22 August 2011 in the United Kingdom. Signed copies were available to pre-order on Universal Music's online store.

<i>Classic Christmas</i> (Joe McElderry album) 2011 studio album by Joe McElderry

Classic Christmas is the third studio album and first Christmas album by the British singer Joe McElderry. It was released on 25 November 2011. It is his second album released under Decca Records.

Steven Baker is an arranger, orchestrator and record producer, best known for his work in the UK classical/pop crossover genre. He has worked on albums and projects for a wide range of artists over the years, including Katherine Jenkins, Joe McElderry, Alfie Boe, Russell Watson, Noah Stewart, Laura Wright, Paul Potts, Hayley Westenra, Rolando Villazón, Lesley Garrett, The Priests, Gary Barlow, Only Men Aloud!, Will Martin, Faryl Smith, Friar Alessandro, Julian Ovenden, Toni Braxton, Neal E. Boyd and The Ten Tenors.

<i>Act Two</i> (Collabro album) 2015 studio album by Collabro

Act Two is the second studio album by English boy band Collabro. It was released on 1 June 2015 and debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart. It sold 22,031 copies in the UK in its first week on sale. It has sold 75,142 copies as of March 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brighton Festival Chorus</span> Musical artist

Brighton Festival Chorus is a large choir of over 150 amateur singers based in Brighton, UK. One of the country's leading symphony choruses.., and considered "one of the jewels in the city's musical crown", BFC performs in major concert halls throughout Britain and Europe, particularly in Brighton and London.

<i>Together</i> (Michael Ball and Alfie Boe album) 2016 studio album by Michael Ball and Alfie Boe

Together is a collaborative studio album by English singers Michael Ball and Alfie Boe. It was released on 4 November 2016 through Decca Records. The album peaked at number one the UK Albums Chart, becoming Ball's second UK number one album and Boe's first. Together has been certified double platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales of 600,000 copies in the UK.

<i>Vera Lynn 100</i> 2017 compilation album by Vera Lynn

Vera Lynn 100 is a compilation album by English singer Vera Lynn. The album was released on 17 March 2017, by Decca Records, produced by James Morgan and Juliette Pochin to celebrate Lynn's 100th birthday. Some of her best-known songs were re-orchestrated for the album, which features original vocals. The LP features a previously-recorded and hitherto unreleased cover of the Gavin Sutherland-composed "Sailing", and collaborations with singers Alfie Boe, Alexander Armstrong, Aled Jones and Cynthia Erivo.

<i>Together Again</i> (Michael Ball and Alfie Boe album) 2017 studio album by Michael Ball and Alfie Boe

Together Again is the second collaborative studio album by English singers Michael Ball and Alfie Boe. It was released on 27 October 2017 through Decca Records. The album went to number one on the UK Albums Chart. As of September 2022, the album had sold 433,362 copies in the UK.

Nicholas Patrick is a British record producer. He has produced albums for artists such as Seal, Aretha Franklin, the Beach Boys, Placido Domingo, and Andrea Bocelli, received three Grammy award nominations and won eight Album of the Year Classic BRIT Awards.

<i>Downton Abbey: Original Music from the Television Series</i> 2011 soundtrack album by John Lunn and Chamber Orchestra of London

Downton Abbey: Original Music from the Television Series is the first soundtrack that accompanied the ITV historical television series Downton Abbey. Composed by John Lunn and performed by the Chamber Orchestra of London, the album consists of 19 songs, mostly from the television score and three songs performed by Alfie Boe and Mary-Jess Leaverland. It was released on 19 September 2011 through Decca Records, a day after the second season's premiere.

References

  1. Juliette Louise B Pochin in England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837–2008, FamilySearch, citing Birth Registration, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, Wales, citing General Register Office, Southport, England.
  2. Monk, Judith, Judith Monk spends time with Juliette Pochin, the mezzo-soprano with a "smooth and chocolaty" voice, Musical Opinion , 1 January 2007. Accessed via subscription 15 May 2010
  3. The Fountain, Debut Album Released by Former Choral Scholar at Trinity Archived 11 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine , Autumn 2006, p. 11. Accessed 15 May 2010
  4. Music Week,"Smooth diva sells chocolate", 6 December 2006. Accessed 15 May 2010
  5. Search results for "light for the world"
  6. Smith, David, "Four Seasons find their voice as Vivaldi sonnets are set to music", The Observer , 7 May 2006. Accessed 15 May 2010
  7. Achenbach, Andrew, Editors' Choice: Vaughan Williams, Gramophone , March 2008, p. 91. Accessed 15 May 2010
  8. Steane, John, Review: Knowles: Poetry Serenade, Gramophone, March 2009, p. 82. Accessed 19 May 2010
  9. Signum Records, Liner notes: Poetry Serenade Archived 17 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine , 2008. Accessed 19 May 2010