Kirsteen Robson
Soprano
- Arts or sciences?
- Arts — I did a Music degree.
- What's your daytime job?
- Three days a week (and snatches of time in between) I am an editor at Usborne Publishing. Since joining in 1997 I've written and edited all kinds of children's non-fiction books, ranging from colouring, puzzle and general activity books, to sticker books, dictionaries and encyclopedias. In a fairly typical week I could be juggling mazes, holiday activities, dot-to-dots, castles, gnomes, a world religions encyclopedia and a science encyclopedia revision. The other days I spend with my lovely, lively daughter, juggling Duplo, naps and nappies.
- When and where did you start singing?
- I am told, in church, at the age of 18 months, standing on the pew singing 'alleluia, alleluia' to all the Easter hymns.
- What's your favourite choral piece of music?
- Singular?! Impossible. Current favourites are Monteverdi Vespers, Bach's B minor Mass, Handel's 'Dixit Dominus', Rachmaninov Vespers… Bainton's ' And I saw a new Heaven', Stanford's 'Beati quorum', Brewer in D, Darke in F, Rheinberger Mass in E♭, Eric Whitacre's 'Sleep', Vaughan Williams' 'Lord, thou has been our refuge', Britten 'Hymn to the Virgin'… I'd better stop there.
- What are your hobbies?
- Singing (obviously!), patchwork, reading (especially Plantagenet and Tudor history, 'quasi historical' fantasy and books recommended by friends), family history research.
- Wine, beer or spirits?
- Full-bodied Australians. What was the question again? Wine.
- What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?
- 42. No, wait, it's Monty P, isn't it? Ni!