Born in Glasgow, Thomas Walker studied brass at The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama before studying singing with Ryland Davies at the Royal College of Music, London.

Plans this season and beyond include further performances of the title role in Rameau Platée for Stuttgart Opera and in concert at St John’s Smith Square, London with Christian Curnyn and the Early Opera Company; Don Pedrarias Davila in Peter Sellars’ new production of Purcell The Indian Queen for English National Opera; Sospiro in Gassmann L’opera seria for La Monnaie, Brussels and René Jacobs; Mozart Requiem with Cappella Amsterdam and Daniel Reuss; Bach Cantatas 191 & 211 with Laurence Cummings and the Royal Northern Sinfonia; Messiah on a UK tour with the Dunedin Consort and on a European tour with Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, again with Laurence Cummings.

Thomas has sung Platée for Stuttgart Opera and Staatstheater Nürnberg and Count Almaviva; Eurimaco The Return of Ulysses; Janek Makropulos Case; Alessandro Il Re Pastore; Quint The Turn of the Screw; Basilio Figaro; Lysander A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Italian Tenor Der Rosenkavalier; Lindoro L’Italiana in Algeri; Pélleas; Linfea Calisto; Lenia in Cavalli Eliogabalo; Ferrando; Don Ottavio and Letchmere Owen Wingrave for companies including the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, ENO, Scottish Opera, Innsbruck Early Music Festival, Ensemble Matheus, Freiburg Baroque Orchestra; La Monnaie, Brussels, Grange Park Opera and Holland Park Opera.

His debut at the 2002 Proms in Mendelssohn Elijah at the Royal Albert Hall, with Kurt Masur and the LPO resulted in return invitations to sing Janácek Otcenas and Beethoven Mass in C, and after his debut with the Northern Sinfonia (Bach Magnificat) with Thomas Zehetmair, he was asked to sing Haydn Creation in the opening concert of the Sage, Gateshead and more recently Mozart Requiem.

Other concert appearances have included Elijah with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Paul McCreesh; Zadok in Handel Solomon in Lisbon, also with McCreesh; Britten Les Illuminations with The Scottish Ensemble; Stravinsky Pulcinella with the BBC SSO and Matthias Pintscher; Bach Cantatas at the Vienna Konzerthaus with Ensemble Claudiana; Meyerbeer Emma di Resburgo with Andreas Stoehr at the same venue; Bach Mass in F and Easter Oratorio with the Orchestra of the 18th Century and Frans Brüggen; Britten War Requiem in Moscow; Schumann Paradies und die Peri with the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, and Daniel Reuss; Messiah with the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge and Academy of Ancient Music, Orquestra Metroplitana de Lisboa, for WNO Orchestra and Harry Bicket and at Wigmore Hall with Christian Curnyn; Evangelist in Bach St Matthew and St John Passions and Giuliano in Handel Rodrigo with Al Ayre Espagnol; St John Passion with the OAE and Mark Padmore; St Matthew Passion (Evangelist) with the Israel Camerata; St Matthew Passion (arias) with the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge and with the Gabrieli Consort; Bach B Minor Mass, Handel Jephtha, Schubert Mass in E Flat and a concert of music by Janácek with Cappella Amsterdam and Daniel Reuss; Chevalier in Poulenc Les Dialogues des Carmélites at the Edinburgh International Festival; Tippett A Child of our Time with the RPO and Sir Andrew Davis; Creation with Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa; Bach cantatas with the Hamburg Symphoniker and Haydn Nelson Mass and Britten Cantata Academica with the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart and Jeffrey Tate.

Thomas Hobbs is in demand  with many leading baroque and early music ensembles, appearing throughout Europe and the US as a soloist in key works  from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. Hobbs works  frequently with, among  others, Philippe Herreweghe and his acclaimed ensemble  Collegium Vocale  Gent and Raphaël Pichon  and his Ensemble Pygmalion.

Recent concert performances include Evangelist in the Bach St Matthew Passion and St John Passion with the Choir  of King’s College, Cambridge, Le Concert Lorrain and Ensemble Pygmalion, arias in the Passions with the Academy of Ancient  Music, CVG and Ex Cathedra, Bach B minor Mass with  CVG, Le Concert Lorrain, Akademie  für Alte Musik  Berlin, Bach Akademie  Stuttgart and the Freiburg  Bachchar, Bach Magnificant with De Nederlandse Bachverenigning, Bach Ascension  Oratorio with CVG, Bach Christmas Oratorio with the Australian  Chamber  Orchestra, title role in Handel  Joshua with the Akademie  für Alte Musik  and RIAS Kammerchor, Handel  Israel in Egyptwith

the Choir  of King’s College, Cambridge, Handel  Messiah Le Concert Lorrain, Mozart Requiem with Dunedin Consort and Beethoven  Mass in C with Stuttgart Kammerchor. Hobbs has aIso made  debuts  with the Northern Sinfonia,  City of Birmingham Symphony, Royal Scottish National  and Bournemouth Symphony orchestras and with renowned period ensemble  Accademia Bizantina under  Ottavio Dantone.

Hobbs’s operatic roles include a critically acclaimed Telemachus  The Retum of Ulysses in a new production for English National Opera  conducted by Jonathan, Apollo and Shepherd in Monteverdi’s Orfeo in semi-staged performances with Richard Egarr and the AAM, the title  role in Albert  Herring and Ferrando  Cosifan tutte.  A keen recita list, highlights include Brett Dean Winter Sangs  at the Cheltenham Festival, Vaughan Williams  On Wenlock  Edge with the Edinburgh  Ouartet, Schubert  Oie Schone Müllerin and Schumann Liederkreis  Op.39, a recital of Mozart  sangs at London’s Kings Place, a recital  of English song and German lieder for the Festival Accademia delle Crete Senesi in Tuscany, and, most  recently, Wolf sangs at the Oxford Lieder Festival and a recital  at the Ryedale Festival with Christopher Glynn.

Hobbs’ ever-expanding discography includes Bach B minor Mass with  CVG and Dunedin  Consort, Bach Motets, Leipzig cantatas and Christmas Oratorio with CVG, Handel  Acis et Galatea and Esther with Dunedin Consort and Beethoven  Mass  in C with  Stuttgart Kammerchor. His most  recent  recordings of Handel Chandos Anthems with  Stephen  Layton  and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Mozart Requiem with John Butt and the Dunedin  Consort have been universally  praised, with the latter receiving  the 2014 Gramophone Award  for best Choral recording.

Current and future engagements include  further tours with Collegium Vocale; Damon Acis and Galatea with Dunedin  Consort, Bach cantatas with De Nederlandse Bachverenigning and Ensemble Pygmalion, Bach Christmas Oratorio with the Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederé Österreich, Tonhalle Orchester Zürich and Le Concert Lorrain.

Born in Exeter, Thomas  Hobbs  studied at the Royal College of Music  under the tutelage of Neil Mackie, where he was awarded the RCM  Peter Pears and Mason scholar ships, and at the Royal Academy  of Music  under Ryland Davies, where he held a Kohn Bach Scholarship in addition to a full entrance  scholarship. He was also awarded a Susan Chilcott Scholarship, has been made a Royal Philharmonie Society Young Artist and was an Associate Artist of the Classical Opera  Company. He was also a member of the prestigious Académie at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, where he performed in concert with Louis Langrée  and the Camerata Salzburg.

www.intermusica.co.uk/artist/Thomas-Hobbs

Photo Credit – Benjamin Ealovega