Michael Pollock won a music scholarship to
Magdalen College, Oxford before going to the Royal College of Music
to study piano accompaniment with Roger Vignoles. He enjoyed a long
association with Welsh National Opera, firstly as a member of music
staff and then as freelance Vocal Consultant. During this time he
was responsible for the musical preparation of about 75 different
operas, working closely with conductors such as Sir Reginald
Goodall, Sir Charles Mackerras, Sir Richard Armstrong, Pierre
Boulez and Carlo Rizzi. He has also worked on several
contemporary operas with Music Theatre Wales.
Michael is now Consultant Coach for the
Harewood Artists at English National Opera, and in addition to his
work with singers, repetiteurs and accompanists at RWCMD, he is
also on the teaching staffs of the Royal Academy of Music (where he
has been awarded an Honorary Associateship), the Royal College of
Music, and the National Opera Studio, as well as occasionally
coaching for the Royal Opera House and Scottish Opera. He is
vice-chairman and a founding Trustee of the Kenneth Loveland
Gift.
Michael has accompanied Dame Kiri Te
Kanawa in recitals in Europe, Asia, Scandinavia, and at the
50th Israel Festival in Jerusalem; and with Bryn Terfel
he has appeared in the UK, Norway, Asia, Australia, and the
Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Other singers he has accompanied in
recital include Dame Anne Evans, Gwyn Hughes Jones, Katarina
Karnéus, Christopher Maltman, Dennis O’Neill, Adrian Thompson,
Ailish Tynan and Sir Willard White. He acted as official
accompanist for the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition on
three occasions and has frequently broadcast on Radio 3. His
recordings include a disc of English songs with the baritone
Anthony Michaels-Moore, two collections of Italian songs with
Rebecca Evans and Nuccia Focile, the world premiere of Alun
Hoddinott’s Towy Landscapes, and both Brahms clarinet
sonatas (plus the sonata by Nino Rota) with Leslie Craven.