Maddie, OW 2019

Maddie, OW 2019
currently studying for her Masters in Performance at Royal College of Music

I started singing when I was six or seven. I came to Wells Cathedral School when I was 10, as a Chorister and my love of singing grew from there. After the choir I made it onto the Vocal Specialist programme at Wells – which set the course for everything that has come since.

My parents would never have been in a position to pay for me to go to private school. The only reason I could go to Wells was because of a significant bursary.

When I was young, I didn’t really know what having a bursary meant, or what it was. I just remember my parents telling me that I was really lucky to have this opportunity, to work hard and not mess up! As I got older, and learned about money in the real world, I understood how incredible this gift was. The fact that somebody who doesn’t know me gave that money because they believed in me and wanted me to do well is unbelievable – because without it I would not be where I am today. I genuinely owe everything I’ve achieved so far to a bursary. I get really emotional thinking about it because my life could have been so different. If I had the chance, I’d tell the donor that they made a good investment, it’s paid off. I hope they would be thrilled.

Before I went to Wells I didn’t even know opera singing was a thing. But now it’s all I want to do for the rest of my life. It’s such a competitive industry, so it’s hard to become the top opera singer in the world. But I am confident I will be able to make a living and work as a musician.