Rebecca Newman (born 1981) is an English soprano singer and songwriter. She came to prominence in the UK music scene in September 2014 when her debut chart album ''Dare to Dream'' went to number 1 in the Official UK Classical Artists Album Chart. Dubbed 'The People's Soprano' by her fans, colleagues and the media, and following several years as an operatic street performer, she has sung with

Aled Jones Aled Jones, (born 29 December 1970) is a Welsh singer and radio and television presenter. As a teenage chorister, he reached widespread fame during the mid-1980s. Since then he has worked in television with the BBC and ITV, and radio (for ...

Russell Watson Russell Watson is an English tenor who has released singles and albums of both operatic-style and pop songs. He began singing as a child, and became known after performing at a working men's club. He came to attention in 1999 when he sang "God ...

, Alfie Boe,

Blake Blake is a surname which originated from Old English. Its derivation is uncertain; it could come from "blac", a nickname for someone who had dark hair or skin, or from "blaac", a nickname for someone with pale hair or skin. Another theory, presuma ...

, and Joseph Calleja and appeared on UK national television and radio.

Early life

Newman was born and raised in

Exmouth Exmouth is a port town, civil parish and seaside resort, sited on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe and southeast of Exeter. In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the 5th most populous settlement in Devon. Histo ...

, Devon, where she remained until she was 21. She began singing at the age of 13 and twice during her teenage years won a place with the

National Youth Music Theatre The National Youth Music Theatre (NYMT) is an arts organisation in the United Kingdom providing pre-professional education and musical theatre stage experience for young people. Based in London, it is constituted as a private limited company (orig ...

. In 2002 she moved to London to pursue a career in business, and then moved to

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, North Yorkshire in 2004, to read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of York, graduating in 2007. During her time there she began busking and accepting professional engagements. She has remained resident in York, UK.

Music career

Career beginnings

Newman released her first CD album in September 2005, which she recorded on location at the University of York's Jack Lyons Concert Hall. She went on to release four more studio albums selling over 15,000 copies before her debut chart-eligible album release in 2014. She also performed at many prestigious venues including Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, The Royal Hall in Harrogate and Headingley Stadium. In 2013, Newman performed with

at Truro Cathedral and

at the Party in the Park in Burton Agnes, and performed the national anthems live on international television for three Rugby League World Cup matches. Newman also co-wrote and recorded the official song for the Rugby League World Cup Dance Project, ''Pass It On''. In November 2013, she released a charity single version of ''Wonderful Dream'', originally released by the late singer

Melanie Thornton Melanie Janene Thornton (May 13, 1967 – November 24, 2001) was an German-American pop and dance music singer. She was the lead singer of the Eurodance group La Bouche from 1994 to 2000, alongside American rapper Lane McCray. Their two most ...

. Over the years, Newman built up a loyal following of supporters, who dub themselves The Newmaneers.

''Dare to Dream'' 2014–15

In early 2013 she engaged the services of the

City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra (Czech: ''Filharmonici města Prahy'') is a classical orchestra, predominantly composed of Czech classical, jazz and guest musicians. The history of the orchestra goes back to the Film Symphony Orchestr ...

, conductor and arranger Paul Bateman, orchestral producer James Fitzpatrick and producer Gareth Ellis Williams to help create her new album. The title track, ''Dare to Dream'', was co-written by Newman, Chris Nicolaides and Mike Brayn. The album was released on her own record label, Rambling Rose Records, on 14 September 2014 and it went straight to number one in the Official UK Classical Artists Albums Chart. It received rave reviews and quickly sold out online and in HMV stores Following the chart success, Newman embarked on a fifty-plus date tour with

, as his special guest, performing to over 50,000 people from March to July 2015, followed by a duet with tenor Alfie Boe during the final concert of his summer tour.

Television and radio

Since 2005, Newman has appeared extensively on BBC regional radio and commercial radio stations, among them BBC Radio Bristol and BBC Radio Norfolk. She first appeared on BBC One's Songs of Praise in November 2014, performing ''The Prayer'' with the vocal group Blake, and again in May 2015 singing ''Abide with Me'' as a solo performance in Manchester Cathedral. The broadcast of the final round of the BBC Radio 2 Young Chorister of the Year competition in St Paul's Cathedral featured the special guests, Newman with Blake, in live performance, and on the Radio 2 Weekend Wogan show she was interviewed by Sir Terry and performed live on air.

Charity

Newman has worked extensively with charities including directly fundraising for ChildLine and for the

Royal National Lifeboat Institute The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...

, whose Coast to Coast tour in 2012 earned her the RNLI Award for Outstanding Achievement. She has recently become the patron for Socks and Chocs, a West Midlands based homeless outreach charity.
She has performed for fundraising events for many charities and community organisations, including

The Royal British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants, as well as all others in n ...

. and Tumaini Jipya. In June 2017 she joined Joseph Calleja in a gala charity evening at the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

in support of the Inle Trust.

Discography

Albums

: 2005: ''Music Box'' : 2008: ''Cantare'' : 2009: ''Memory'' : 2010: ''O Holy Night'' : 2011: ''Fields of Gold'' : 2014: ''Dare to Dream'' (UK Classical Artist Albums Chart No.1)

Singles

: 2012: "Il Mio Cuore Va" : 2013: "Pass It On" : 2013: "Heroes to the World" : 2013: "Holidays Are Coming (Wonderful Dream)" : 2014: "Heroes to the World – The People's Anthem"

References

External links

Rebecca Newman official websiteBBC1 Songs of Praise: The Prayer 16/11/2014BBC1 Songs of Praise: Abide with Me 24/5/2015 BBC Radio 2: Weekend Wogan, 19/7/2015Ad-lib duet with Alfie Boe – Leeds Millenium Square 24/7/2015Rebecca Newman's YouTube channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newman, Rebecca 1981 births Living people British sopranos Opera crossover singers British women singer-songwriters English buskers People from Exmouth 21st-century English women singers 21st-century English singers