The Junior Ashburnham English Song Awards are BACK! On Wednesday 15th October 2025, Abbot’s Hall, Battle Abbey School, will host the third AESA Junior Final. Students from different schools across the county will come together to perform a selection of English Song for our panel of judges. Audiences will be treated to works from composers such as Vaughan Williams, Finzi, Clarke and many more, whilst enjoying the beautifully atmospheric location of Battle Abbey.
Our Junior Awards are a brilliant way to encourage our next generation of musicians, giving them the opportunity to perform in front of the country’s leading classical musicians and enriching their knowledge of English Song. The Awards will begin at 7pm, with doors opening at 6:30pm. Tickets are available from the link below and please email secretary@aesawards.co.uk if you have any queries!
Tickets for AESA Junior Final
This year, we ran a design competition amongst Hastings College students, with the winning design featuring on our marketing for this year’s Awards. The winning design was created by Harrison Garmen, with Second Prize awarded to Amy Merlo and Third Prize awarded to Ellie Wren!
JUDGES
We are incredibly excited to announce our Judges for the 2025 Junior Awards Final!
(Due to unforseen circumstances, Elizabeth Muir-Lewis is unable to adjudicate this year’s Junior Final)
Linda Kitchen
Soprano
Linda Kitchen studied at the Royal Northern College of Music and at the National Opera Studio. Having served her apprenticeship at Glyndebourne Festival, she became a principal soprano at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, followed by an extensive free-lance career. During her 25 years as a soloist, she sang with notable conductors and directors, her goal always being to engage and communicate with the audience. Linda’s interest in theatre led her towards reinventing herself as a director, directing upwards of 20 operas in New Zealand, USA and back in the UK.
She has always had a passion to help young singers unearth their talents and develop their performance skills. This was fulfilled to a greater extent at the University of Auckland and the National Opera Studio in London. Her research for NOS – to support singers reaching a crossroads in their careers – has led to her foundation of the charity SingersResound who has helped over 100 singers in crisis. Linda’s quest, to be present when needed, brings her to Ashburnham, where she looks forward to hearing lovely voices and enjoying compelling performances.
Alessandro Fisher
Tenor
Alessandro was a member of the BBC New Generation Artists Scheme between 2018 and 2021. An Associate Artist of The Mozartists, he won First Prize at the 2016 Kathleen Ferrier Awards, and in 2022 he received an award from the Borletti-Buitoni Trust. He made his Salzburg Festival debut as Lucano in Monteverdi’s “L’Incoronazione di Poppea” and further operatic engagements have included roles at The Grange Festival, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, and the Royal Opera, London. Concert and recital performances have included engagements with the BBC Orchestras, the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest of The Netherlands, Wigmore Hall, and the Oxford International Song Festival.
Engagements in 2025 include performances with “The Mozartists” at Cadogan Hall, “La Serenissima” at Wigmore Hall, the Czech Philharmonic and Sir Simon Rattle in Prague, Graham Johnson at the Luxembourg Philharmonie; and “I Pomeriggi Musicali” in Milan. He has recorded roles for Les Arts Florissants and Harmonia Mundi; the Mozartists and Signum CD; and performed as tenor soloist in Roussel’s “Evocations” with the BBC Philharmonic on Chandos Records. In 2022 Alessandro, debuted a new song cycle by the composer Ian Venables entitled “Portraits of a Mind”. Commissioned by the Vaughan Williams Society to be a companion piece to “On Wenlock Edge”, the cycle was subsequently recorded and released by Albion Records in early 2023. His second disc with Albion, “I Have Lived and Loved”, featuring songs by Vaughan Williams and Percy Grainger was released in September of this year. His first solo album with pianist Anna Tilbrook was released by Rubicon Records in February 2024. Entitled “A Gardener’s World” it is taken from a live performance at the Wigmore Hall, and features songs in 6 languages, inspired by blooms from around the world.