Karen Radcliffe read Music and Classics at the University of Keele, holding the vocal scholarship there for three consecutive years, subequently studying with Paul Farrington and Jane Manning for a Masters in Modern Music. She was awarded a Concordia Scholarship for opera studies and participated in numerous masterclasses with Adrienne Czerny of the Liszt Academy and Dr. Stuart Burrows. Karen made her London début at the Purcell Room alongside Jane Manning and the Endymion Ensemble in the “Performers’ Choice Series”.
For twenty years she has worked in recital partnership with Michael Bell performing throughout Europe to much acclaim in an extensive repertoire encompassing Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Grieg, Berg, Fauré, Debussy, Ravel, Poulenc, Messiaen, Dallapiccola and Shostakovich. Orchestral performances included Strauss Vier Letzte Lieder, Mahler Symphony No. 4, Vaughan Williams A Sea Symphony; in addition to sacred works by Haydn, Mozart, Respighi, Poulenc; and vocal chamber works such as Ravel’s Chansons Madécasses Schönberg’s Pierrot Lunaire, Britten’s Phaedra, and Berio’s Folksongs. Known for her advocacy of new music, she has given numerous premières including A Share of Night to Bear by Sorhab Uduman and the song cycle September, Just Septembers by Peter Seabourne.