Biography

Jonathan Wagstaff is a 27-year-old baritone. In September 2011 he will be taking up a generous scholarship to study for a Master of Music in Voice at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, USA in the studio of the renowned British bass-baritone, John Shirley-Quirk. He grew up in Kent and and sang with the National Youth Choir of Great Britain before moving on to Lady Margaret Hall College, Oxford University in 2002 to read for a BA in Music. He was then admitted to The Queen's College, Oxford in 2006 to study for an MSt in Musicology with medieval music scholar Margaret Bent. After graduation Jonathan had a brief flirtation with management consultancy before going on to forge a career as a singer and music teacher. He is currently studying voice with British opera singers Neal Davies and Russell Smythe (RCM), sings as a scholar with the Choir of Wells Cathedral, and teaches at the music specialist Wells Cathedral School.

Jonathan has held choral scholarships at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, The Queen's College, Oxford, Chelmsford Cathedral and Wells Cathedral. Over the past 5 years he has worked with a number of renowned conductors and coaches including John Eliot Gardiner, Christopher Cowell (ROH), Robin Bowman (GSMD) and Graham Johnson. Jonathan performs regularly as a soloist with a variety of British choral societies.

He has sung as soloist on a number of recordings and broadcasts. His most recent solo recordings include Caeli Porta (Guild Records) with the Queen's College Choir and a disk of works by the contemporary composer Phillip Moore (Regent Records). Notable broadcast appearances include performing on ITV1 Television for HRH the Prince of Wales in a celebration for his 60th birthday on 15th November 2008, and a 2007 performance on BBC Radio 3 as a cantor for a programme of renaissance Portuguese sacred works.