Hitting the right note
Oxford vocalist continues family tradition with music degree.
A vocalist from Oxford was among over 1500 students from City University London to graduate at ceremonies held in the capital this week.
Catherine Jones, who completed a Bachelor of Music and graduated with a 2:1, was joined at the ceremony by her proud parents, who are both also musicians.
Aged 23, Catherine was born and raised in Oxford, where her family still live. During her degree she focused on vocal performance and early music.
"I was particularly interested in studying in London, one of the world's biggest music hubs. City University London has fantastic music facilities, but I also chose to study there because of the performance links with the Guildhall School of Music & Drama," says Catherine.
With her mum being a primary school music teacher and a violinist and her father a musicologist who plays the organ and harpsichord, it's little surprise that Catherine has plenty of musical talent.
"I have always grown up with music but first started professional singing lessons at the age of 15. Although I took some time out after I finished school to do some work, it wasn't long before I decided that I was really interested in studying music at University. I completed a Foundation course at Trinity College of Music and then decided to study music at City University London."
During her degree Catherine was involved in the chamber choir and also a member of an elite group of singers at the University, Civitas. The group was conducted by Alexander Lingas, a well-respected choir conductor who is also the founder and Artistic Director of the vocal ensemble Cappella Romana in the U.S.
"I really enjoyed having the opportunity to work with Alex during performances; working with such a high calibre professional was fantastic," says Catherine.
Catherine now plans to continue her music study and has been accepted into a Masters in Historical Performance at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.
"During my degree I also discovered that as well as being a performer, I'm very interested in the academic side of music. I'm looking forward to pursuing both these aspects further," says Catherine.
Notes to Editors
For further information, please contact Hollie Jenkins in City University London's Press Office on 020 7040 8783 or at hollie.jenkins.1@city.ac.uk.
About City University London
City University London is an international University with a reputation for academic excellence and a central London location. It was placed in the top 5% of world universities by Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2010-11.
The University leads London in education, research and enterprise for business and the professions and is ranked 10th in the UK for both the employability of its graduates (by The Times Good University Guide 2011) and graduate starting salaries (by The Sunday Times University Guide 2011).
City is broadly-based with world leading strengths in the arts, including journalism and music; informatics; social sciences; engineering and mathematical sciences; business; law; community and health sciences.
The University attracts over 21,000 students from around 160 countries and academic staff from around 70 countries.
City was founded in 1894 and in 2016 will celebrate its first half century since gaining University title.