She became a student in the Music Department of the N.E.Essex Technical College in Colchester (now Colchester Institute), studying singing principally with Ranken Bushby, later with Norman Tattersall and Eileen Poulter. She graduated as a Bachelor of Music as an external student of London University and then became a postgraduate student at the Royal College of Music, taking Singing (again with Ranken Bushby) and Opera Studies. Beryl gave her début recital in Hexham, Northumberland, in 1973 and has since sung in recital, concert and oratorio in many parts of the country. In 1984 she formed “Duette” with soprano Jacqueline Norris and frequently performs in that context.
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"This book is the ideal place for the singer to start their research…readable and thorough" Neil Jenkins in The Singer, April/May 2008 "More than being just a guide to the songs…one of the most perceptive, and detailed, books in English on the composer." Mike Ashman, Gramophone, December 2007 " a fantastic contribution" Stephen Threlfall |
BERYL FOSTER was born in London and educated at Hatfield School, Hertfordshire. She learnt to read music at infant school, playing the recorder. Piano lessons followed at the age of 11 and later, because of a “gap” in the school orchestra, she took up the cello, also playing in the Mid-Herts Youth Orchestra and the Hatfield Orchestra, first conducted by Vernon Handley. Having sung since a small child, Beryl took her first lessons when she needed a Grade 6 for A-level, and it soon became her principal study.
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