BIOGRAPHY

Kelsey Thomas is a British Lyrical Soprano, studying under the tutelage of Yvonne Howard at the Royal Northern College of Music. Kelsey is generously supported by the Sybil Tutton Opera Award from Help Musicians UK and The Riga Heesom Award.

Originally from Liverpool, Kelsey has been described as an 'exciting early-career singer', praised for her "beautiful storytelling", "outstanding onstage energy" and "excellent supple and elastic tone".

On the concert stage, Kelsey is an experienced song recitalist and has performed numerous concerts across UK venues including Buxton Pavilion Art’s Centre, Crosby Hall and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, where she made her first professional debut in September 2025. Her repertoire includes songs by Rossini, Strauss, Wolf and Rachmaninoff, as well as the masters of French Mélodies. As an oratorio and chamber soloist, Kelsey has performed in major orchestral works including Handel’s Messiah with Liverpool Mozart Orchestra and Villa-Lobos’s Portuguese chamber work, 'Bachianas Brasileiras' with cellists from Merseyside Youth Orchestra.

Her operatic credentials include Sandrina in Mozart’s La Finta Giardinera (2025), Maria Bertram in Mansfield Park (2024), Colombina in Wolf-Ferrari’s Le Donne Curiose (2024), and Marina in 'I Quattro Rusteghi' (RNCM scenes). Kelsey has also performed as part of the RNCM Opera Chorus in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro (2022) as well as the Chorus of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Snegurochka (2023) with RNCM Opera. In 2023, she performed in the Chorus of Ligeti’s Requiem with RNCM Chamber Choir and Edvard Grieg Kor Ensemble at the Royal Albert Hall for the 2023 BBC Proms.

In 2024, Kelsey graduated from her undergraduate studies at the RNCM with a First Class Honours Degree. That same year, she then received a place at the RNCM for her Master's, where she became the proud recipient of the Richard Newitt Fund, which supported the first year of her postgraduate study. Since starting this degree, Kelsey has been selected to sing in masterclasses with Joseph Middleton, Rebecca Evans, Elizabeth Lewellyn, David Owen Norris and Julius Drake.

In autumn 2024, Kelsey was selected to join the prestigious RNCM Songsters, which are a group of accomplished singers and collaborative pianists at the conservatoire. Through this platform, Kelsey regularly performs in concerts across various UK venues, showcasing a diverse range of art song repertoire. After re-auditioning in September this year, Kelsey was reselected to represent the RNCM as a Songster for this academic year.

In January 2026, Kelsey is set to perform as a soloist at Grimsby Town Hall, alongside Mezzo Soprano, Victoria Simmonds, and Bass-Baritone Henry Waddington, for a gala titled 'A lyrical journey through time', which will present arias and songs from Handel to Hammerstein and beyond.

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