Lois Johnston
After graduating from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Lois carved a niche for herself as an accomplished performer of early and contemporary music. In 2000, her musical life changed completely when she appeared as one of the flower maidens in Simon Rattle's BBC Proms performance of Parsifal and discovered a passion for opera. Recent roles include Vixen, Servilia and the Queen of the Night, and she regularly performs in Opera Gala Evenings, Oratorio and Recitals in Europe. Although she now lives in New Zealand, she maintains her Scottish connections. She was also a founder-member of the Dunedin Consort, and sang regularly with the John Currie Singers. As a professional chorister, she has been singing for several years with the Choir of the Enlightenment, Nationale Reisopera (Netherlands), Netherlands Radio Choir and European Voices with whom she toured in Simon Rattle's productions of Idomeneo (Berlin, Lucerne Festival, Salzburg Easter Festival), and Peter Grimes (Salzburg Festival). She has toured Italy, Hungary, France, the UK with the Age of Enlightenment's performance of Das Paradies und die Peri.
Lois is a passionate and dedicated teacher working from her home studio and formerly in two public schools in the UK. She has also taught at residental courses for the National Children's Choir of Great Britain.