Linda Hutchison

Biography

Linda Hutchison studied at Guildhall School of Music & Drama where she won the Sydney de Vries Opera prize. As a performer, her operatic career began at the age of fourteen when she sang the role of Belinda in an open air production of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. As a result of being heard in the finals of the Kathleen Ferrier Scholarship Competition she was offered a contract with D’Oyly Carte Opera Company. She sang with them for several years as principal soprano. In 2010 a biography of her Linda Anne Hutchison, Enchantment Surely was published in Tony Joseph’s D’Oyly Carte Personalities series. As well as her opera and oratorio work, Linda gave many recitals, both as a soloist and as the soprano in a duo with tenor. She was also part of a piano, flute and voice trio.

Linda has taught on the postgraduate Musical Theatre course at the Royal Academy of Music and for several years was a visiting member of staff at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland).  She is an international guest tutor for the Irish College of Music Theatre. She organized and directed The Fundamentals of the Singing Voice, a professional development course run jointly by the British Voice Association and the City Literary Institute, London which balanced the science of the singing voice with artistic freedom. In her private teaching practice she works with a wide range of professionals from the classical, musical theatre and jazz worlds.

Linda works extensively in voice, breathing and rehabilitation. She runs performance workshops and gives presentations on the Anatomy and Physiology of the Voice, the Development of the Voice, The Changing Voice, Care of the Voice and The Accent Breathing Method. She is co-author with Dr Ron Morris of If in Doubt, Breathe Out, a book on breathing and support for singing based on Accent Breathing.

Linda's work in voice clinics began in 1997. She was a member of the internationally renowned Sidcup Voice Clinic at Queen Mary’s Hospital for five years, then part of the team at Medway Voice Clinic, Chatham Maritime Hospital and for some years singing advisor in the voice clinics at Bart’s Hospital, London. She is now the Vocal Rehabilitation Coach at the Lewisham Voice clinics.

Linda has been President of the British Voice Association and for many years was a member of its Education Working Party. She has also served on the Council of the Association of Teachers of Singing.