Susan Sunderland
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Susan Sunderland born Susan Sykes and known as the Calderdale Nightingale (30 April 1819 – 7 May 1905) was a
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
singer. Some years after she retired the annual Mrs Sunderland Music Festival was organised in Huddersfeld and it is still running in the 21st century.


Life

Sunderland was born in
Brighouse Brighouse is a town within the metropolitan borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. Historically within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated on the River Calder, east of Halifax. It is served by Junction 25 of the M62 m ...
in 1819. Her parents were Hannah and Sykes, a butcher. Her soprano voice was discovered in 1831. She was trained by the choirmaster of Brighouse parish church who was also a blacksmith. left, St Paul's, the church where she sang, became a concert hall in 1979 She was fifteen when she gave her first concert. Opportunities outside the area were restricted as there were no railways at the time. When she gave a concert in Huddersfield or performed as principal soprano at St Paul's Church there she walked thirty miles that day, often arriving home at two hours after midnight. She performed “ Wise men flattering” by
Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...
and “The Captive Greek Girl” by Hobbes at the first Leeds Chamber Concert (around 1835). In 2020 the church is now a concert hall.


The annual "Mrs Sunderland Music Festival"

In 1888 she had been married for fifty years and a celebration was organised, at which she was given an illuminated manuscript to celebrate her skills. After this a group of people decided that there should be an annual competition to find more leading women soloists. In April 1889 the first annual "Mrs Sunderland Festival" took place in Huddersfield with Mrs Sunderland presenting the prizes to the winners. It was a singing competition initially for female soloists but it was expanded to include pianists and violin players on alternate years. The music festival has expanded further and in the 21st century it occupies nine days at
Huddersfield Town Hall Huddersfield Town Hall is a municipal facility in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom. It is a Grade II listed building. History The building was commissioned to replace the offices of the Huddersfield Improvement Commissioners who had ...
. The festival in February 2020 was the 131st and it included choirs, ensembles, instrumentalists and spoken performances including those in the local dialect.


Private life

She married Henry Sunderland in 1838. They had six children and never moved house all their lives.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sunderland, Susan 1819 births 1905 deaths People from Brighouse 19th-century British women singers