For our latest interview, Oper Germany is thrilled to speak with British mezzo-soprano Lorna Price of www.germanformusicians.co.uk. In our interview you’ll learn Lorna’s most recommended methods for learning German, how musicians have natural advantages when it comes to learning languages, and the best online tools you can use to enhance your German studies.
Lorna Price began her musical and linguistic training as a chorister at Llandaff Cathedral. It was her early experiences of singing Bach that motivated her to take up learning German (and her singing of Bach, now professionally, continues to inspire her!) Lorna continued her vocal studies at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where she sang as a Choral Scholar and read Modern and Medieval Languages (French and German). She specialised in German Baroque Opera, Singing Translations and German musicology of the Goethe-period, and graduated with First Class honours, with a university award for her spoken German. Whilst a student, she spent her year abroad working at the Press Office of the Wiener Staatsoper (when not singing or whirling around the ballroom) and at Schott Music International in Mainz, in the educational resources department. She continues to study vocally with Alison Wells, for whose continued guidance and support she is very grateful.
Today, Lorna pursues a portfolio career of solo and ensemble performance, outreach, and German language training and translations for musicians, with a particular emphasis on Early Music. As a Mezzo, she performs with some of the UK’s and Europe’s leading vocal ensembles, including the Monteverdi Choir, BBC Singers, Collegium Vocale Gent, Utopia Choir, Tenebrae and ORA Singers. On Sundays, Lorna sings with the Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital in Chelsea. Lorna regularly performs as a step-out soloist, particularly enjoying oratorio and part-song work. She was a Monteverdi Choir Apprentice for the 2023 / 2024 season. Upcoming engagements include Castor et Pollux at the Opéra National de Paris in 2025, and programmes with the Monteverdi Choir and Collegium Vocale Gent.
Her translations span an eclectic array of musical media. From surtitle translations, to advertising texts, biographies, and teaching and learning materials for music, her translations have appeared in media, print and publications of the Wiener Staatsoper, Welsh National Opera, Schott Music International, Wigmore Hall, and of the Goethe-Institut. Privately, her clients have included orchestral and vocal artists of international acclaim. She has translated for performance, with a notable singing translation of the comedic Singspiele of Reinhard Keiser. She is a German speaker of near-native proficiency, and as a language coach and teacher, she qualified under the Goethe-Institut’s international Grünes Diplom for teachers of German world-wide, with whom she has been working since 2020. She continues to deliver workshops to schools offering a first taste of the German language through music, with the hope of motivating young people to learn the language that launched her career.
Lorna has facilitated and delivered nation-wide programmes for access into music and languages, in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut (Learn German through Song for Primary Schools, Yeah Yeah Yeah; Singing the Beatles in German), and as part of Tenebrae’s acclaimed Singing Schools programme. She is known for her spirited comedic energy and enthusiasm for languages and music, which she hopes to inspire in those with whom she works.
If you have any questions for Lorna, you can follow her on Instagram @lornaprice, contact her via her website www.germanformusicians.co.uk or for general questions about the specifics of getting started learning the German language, reach out to us at opergermany@gmail.com. Enjoy this insightful interview with this wonderful musician and language coach!