For Nicky Spence it's all about the singing. The
'Voice of Scotland' started life in Dumfries in 1983, and although struggling
from a broken home, he thrived in life with a huge love of performing and
working in his local chippy to earn money to pay for his singing lessons, he
headed straight from school to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in
London where he received a scholarship as their youngest singer. From here, Scotland soon began to notice one of its
sons slowly taking the classical music world by storm, as Nicky won accolades
such as the Kathleen Ferrier Young Singer's Prize aged just 18 years old.
Nicky developed considerable experience in all operatic,
recital and oratorio fields and emerged as an accomplished tenor in his own
right. But on top of his obvious talent, Nicky's gift to move a
wide audience alongside his generous humorous nature and infectious enthusiasm
have communicated themselves to all who watch him perform an indeed, work with
him. It wasn't long before Universal
Records noticed this young man's dedication to classical music and his love of
the Scottish Songs of his upbringing, so desperate to support his desire for a
career of integrity, they signed him up to one of the biggest long-term record deals
the UK has ever seen.
The first fruits of this new exciting relationship was
his debut album 'My First Love', which was recorded with the Royal Philharmonic
Orchestra, and soared in the Classical Charts and Scottish Pop Charts earning
him a nomination at the Classical Brit Awards as Young Classical Performer of
the year, which led to a world-premiere performance of a special piece written
for Nicky by John Rutter alongside as Placido Domingo and Dame Kiri te Kanawa
and a performance before Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at The Festival of
Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall.
While performing at some of the world's best loved performance venues with the most distinguished conductors and orchestras, Nicky enjoys his mission to make classical music accessible to a wide audience with his inimitable humour, poise and freshness, which has led him to tour extensively with the likes of Bryn Terfel, Katherine Jenkins, Hayley Westenra, Lesley Garrett and he even joined Dame Shirley Bassey on her recent UK arena tour. As Help the Aged's youngest patron, Nicky also uses his voice in his charity work, which includes being selected as a young spokesperson against violence in the home by the Scottish Government, running an arm of Howard Goodall's Big Sing Project and promoting music as a truly accessible art for all walks of life.
Although Nicky is becoming a familiar personality on radio and television as a singer and presenter alike, Nicky promotes his recordings while maintaining the discipline required of a young operatic tenor. This enables him to undertake lead roles in Opera Houses around the world while still under the tutelage of Vocal Professor John Evans, and to take on other projects such as a recent disk of Schumann Ensembles with Graham Johnson for Hyperion Records and an engagement as a writer and presenter for the critically acclaimed Insider Series on Channel 4.