Jess Dandy

Cumbrian born Jess Dandy is the foremost British contralto of her generation and has been praised for her instrument of velvety plangent timbre, and her artistic remarkable immediacy.

This 2023/24 season Jess sings Elgar Sea Pictures with Tokyo Symphony, Mozart Requiem with Tampere Philharmonic, Handel’s Messiah with Hallé Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, The Glyndebourne Sinfonia and Il Gardellino, multiple concerts with the BBC Philharmonic and will appear at both the London Handel Festival and Spoleto Festival USA.

Recent highlights have included Micah in Handel’s Samson at the BBC Proms with the Academy of Ancient Music, Bach’s Heilig ist Gott with the Dunedin Consort at the BBC Proms, the world premiere of a new opera All Seas by Josephine Stephenson at Opéra Grand Avignon, a new commission Spell of Creation by Alissa Firsova with the BBC Philharmonic, Bach’s Weinachtsoratorium with Salzburg Kulturvereinigung and Bach’s St Matthew Passion with Concertgebouw Amsterdam and Dunedin Consort.

In 2021, Jess was shortlisted for a Royal Philharmonic Society Award in the category of Young Artist. She is a multi-faceted artist with a keen interest in ecology, body psychology and spirituality. She is the co-founder of SongPath, a mental health initiative creating musical walking trails in nature for better mental health. With composer Alex Mills, she developed the Music & Being Collective, an open laboratory space exploring music and our sense of self through interdisciplinary dialogue.

Updated: 9/10/2023