Hester Dart

Hester Dart is a London based alto/mezzo with an interest in baroque, contemporary and new music repertoire. They completed an MMus with distinction at Trinity Laban in 2023, where they studied under Neil Baker and Robert Bottriell. An archive of their final recital, entitled Filth, can be found here.

Hester made their debut on the alternative opera stage at the 2019 Grimeborn Festival, in Verity Lane’s The Crane. In January 2022 they created the role of Elem in Edward Jessen’s sonic theatre work, Syllable. In summer 2021 and 2022 Hester was generously awarded bursaries to study with Juliet Fraser and members of House of Bedlam at Dartington Summer School, where they explored contemporary vocal technique and collaborative composition. While at Trinity Laban, Hester was an avid participant in the creation of new work, collaborating with various composers including Georgia Barnes, Josh Kaye and Nneka Cummins.

Hester is a founding member of The Ruffians, a new music collective with a taste for the experimental and the absurd. Since their debut in April 2023, The Ruffians have been busy growing an audience in a variety of performance platforms across London. They were the recipients of an honorary mention at the 2023 Gladys Puttick memorial prize for improvisation.

Hester is also a member or Vox Urbane, a vocal ensemble led by Helen Meyerhoff and Dan Ludford-Thomas, which launched in April 2023. They are excited to be joining the inaugural 2023–24 VOICEBOX programme, delivered by Juliet Fraser in partnership with Britten Pears Arts; City, University of London; Sound Festival and Dartington Music Summer School.