Alan J. Preston
ALAN J. PRESTON-SINGER/TENOR
A Tenor for all ages
From an early age, Alan J. Preston-Tenor set out to become a performer and professional Singer. Natural ability will only take a talented artist so far, but a strong will and determination has helped push him forward and he continues to drive his development and success. Check out his social media pages for new information and how to get in touch with any questions about Alan J. Preston-Tenor.
ALAN'S BIOGRAPHY
Alan J. Preston – Tenor
Hailing from Cwmbrân, South Wales. Alan’s passion for singing was unavoidable, with his parents both being principal members of the Cwmbrân Operatic Society, where Alan himself would perform as a child in productions including; ‘Oliver!’ and ‘Fiddler on the Roof’, so with this diet sprinkled with Gilbert & Sullivan, Léhar, Romberg and Rogers & Hammerstein, combined with a healthy dose of 50s and 60s pop songs and ballads (another passion passed on from his parent’s youth), it was inevitable that Alan would pursue a life in music.
Alan was a member of the Gwent Youth Choir and National Youth Choir of Wales, where he was a regular soloist. In 1989, Alan won the ‘Gwent Young Musician of the Year’ award, which included a bursary after gaining a place to study at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London, where he studied with renowned tenor Ian Kennedy. During his fist year he was awarded the ‘Sir George Frederick Painter Prize’, normally awarded to second or third year students.
After graduating from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Alan soon began to receive many professional engagements with various companies including; Bath & Wessex Opera, Kent Opera, The London Voices and most notably The Royal Opera Company at Covent Garden, where he sang with the likes of Placido Domingo and Denyce Graves in ‘Carmen’, Renée Fleming in 'Simon Boccanegra' and Sir Thomas Allen in ‘Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg’. He was invited again to sing in Carmen with Ms. Graves in the title role, this time with a second of the Three Tenors, José Carreras singing the role of Don Jose in Raymond Gubbay’s O2 ‘in the round’ production at the Deutschlandhalle, Berlin.
Alan appears on EMI's 40th anniversary Abbey Road recording of ‘Salad Days’ and recording of Jonathan Miller production of ‘The St. Matthew Passion’ where he was an original cast member at London's Holy Trinity Church, Sloane Square and went on to tour with it to Lille, Dublin and Barcelona.
As a tenor, Alan sees himself as a rare breed theses days, as what the Italians call operatically, ‘tenore di grazia’ or ‘leggero tenor’ (graceful and light tenor, respectively) in the same vein as John McCormack, Luigi Alva, Stuart Burrows, Alfredo Kraus and in a lighter vain, Harry Secombe, Kenneth McKellar and Joseph Locke.
Alan’s versatility and virtuosity sees him enjoy singing a wide variety of music from opera, musical theatre and classical crossover. Along with his recitals and concert engagements, more recently Alan has been posting, the previously mentioned 50s and 60s songs and ballads and other repertoire on his YouTube channel Alan J. Preston-Tenor, why not log on, subscribe and enjoy as have the 65K plus viewers already!
Testimonials:
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What a lovely timbre and great phrasing. Vocally that's as good as it can get - John Owen Jones
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I absolutely love your tone and versatility, you have such a beautiful voice! - Steve Balsamo
I'm mightily Impressed by your sound, I look forward to the next of your videos! Well done sir! - Rhydian Roberts
Brilliant! Mesmerising! You are a class act! - Claire Sweeney
Heavenly, beautiful voice! It brought a smile to my face - Shà n Cothi
Your voice sounds wonderful Alan, looking forward to working with you soon. - COBRA music studios.
I knew we were in for a treat when you stepped up to sing for us.... it's a pleasure to work with you.... your shows are NOT to be missed!! - Stargazer Music Magazine
