We are grateful to our founding contributors Andrew & Rebecca Campbell and Howard Gatiss and to all those who support our work and student scholarships. If you wish to support Grasmere Song, please see our Donor Pack below.
Prizes 2026
Adrian Clarke Vocal Awards
The first prize of £1,000 and second prize of £500 will be awarded at the end of the course to two students who demonstrate exceptional promise in performance and text interpretation.
Emily Hoh Pianist Prize
This Prize is awarded in memory of Emily Hoh by Artistic Director Audrey Hyland and provides full-fees for a young pianist to support singers in classes, rehearsals and performances.
Emily Hoh Pianist Prize 2026 Recipient:
Collaborative pianist Yihan Zhao.
Yihan Zhao is a second-year postgraduate student at the Royal College of Music in London, where he is studying Piano under Jianing Kong and Dmitri Alexeev, and Collaborative Piano with Richard Uttley and Simon Lepper.
Yihan was generously supported by the Evelyn Tarrant Scholarship and the Eileen Rowe Musical Trust for his undergraduate study, and will soon join the Collaborative Piano faculty of RCM on an Artist Diploma course with full scholarship. He is also a Samling and Leeds Young Artist.
As a recent harpsichordist, Yihan has already succeeded in the International Harpsichord Competition of the Prix Annelie de Man in the Netherlands, and has been involved in a concert series of Abolition Song and its Legacies, performing at the Handel Hendrix House.
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About the Prizes
Adrian Clarke Vocal Awards
Adrian Clarke was a popular British Baritone, known for his characterisation across a variety of roles and repertoire. Over the course of his career, he performed with the Bregenz Festival, Royal Danish Opera, Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, La Fenice, Dutch National Opera, Opera North, Glyndebourne, Scottish Opera, Welsh National Opera and the Royal Opera House. Covent Garden dedicated a performance of Andrea Chénier to Adrian in May 2025. While studying at the Royal College of Music he won the English Song Prize and continued to have a particular affinity to the song repertoire.
Adrian Clark Prize Winners 2025:
In 2025, Adrian Clarke’s wife, mezzo soprano Sarah Pring, awarded two prizes in his memory after the final performance on Monday 25 August. The first prize of £1,000 and second prize of £500 will be awarded to two students who demonstrate exceptional promise in performance and text interpretation.
Emily Hoh Pianist Prize
Read Emily Hoh's parents' statement...
“When we moved to the UK, Emily enrolled in the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme with a keen interest in psychology. During this period, she focused intently on her studies, and her piano practice became infrequent, serving more as a casual pastime. After completing her IB, she dedicated a year to volunteer work before attending University College London (UCL) to study psychology.
Upon graduation, a university professor advised her to follow her heart if she still had a passion for the piano. Despite a six-year hiatus from serious piano practice, Emily bravely auditioned for the Royal College of Music (RCM). The piano teacher we approached was initially sceptical about her chances of admission due to her prolonged break. However, with just over three months of dedicated preparation, Emily successfully secured a place at RCM.
Her time at RCM was the happiest period of her educational journey. She invested long hours in practice, but unlike her earlier years, this time it was driven by genuine love and passion. RCM opened a new world for her, and she truly found her calling.”
Emily Hoh Pianist Prize Winner 2025: Roelof Temmingh
In 2025, The Emily Hoh Pianist Prize provided full fees to attend the course and was awarded in memory of Emily to a talented pianist by Artistic Director Audrey Hyland. This award is made possible by a generous donation from Tanya Parish and Ken Duncan.
Support us
The Lake District’s capacity to inspire imagination provides the backdrop to our open and collaborative learning environment, enhancing our shared ethos of artistic and professional development for all.
At Grasmere Song every contribution has a significant impact. If you would like to support our work, you will join a creative community that champions singing for everyone, making a lasting impact on the local community while providing a professional path for emerging and mid-career artists.
Please see our Donor Pack or contact us if you would like to know more:
steve@grasmeresong.co.uk or +44 772 0773 910.
