Karon Wright, the founding executive and artistic director of Hexham-based charity Samling Institute for Young Artists, was recognised in the King’s New Year Honours with an MBE.
Samling Institute provides training, support and opportunities to classical singers and pianists, from school students to artists on the brink of professional careers.
The charity was founded by Mrs Wright in 1996 in partnership with local businessman Roger McKechnie. She wanted to create world-class opportunities in a region that does not have a music college or resident opera company.
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Since then many hundreds of young people have benefitted from Samling Institute’s life-changing programmes and thousands more have been touched by Mrs Wright’s work through masterclasses, operas, concerts and projects in state schools across the North East and beyond.
Samling Institute has put on over a hundred performances at Sage Gateshead, now named The Glasshouse. This includes five fully-staged operas, gala concerts and oratorios with Royal Northern Sinfonia and masterclasses led by renowned singers, conductors, pianists and actors.
Samling Institute is a registered charity that receives no public funding and does not have an endowment. Every year, Mrs Wright has raised the funds needed to run the Samling Artist Programme for early-career singers and Samling Academy for young people in the North East. Her efforts have ensured that the Institute has never charged tuition fees to those who benefit.
As she explained, ‘talent, dedication and potential are the only criteria for admission to our programmes’.
Chair of Samling Institute Sir David Bell said: “Karon Wright has been the driving force behind Samling Institute’s many achievements for nearly 30 years.
“Her tireless work has changed individual lives and it has also made a significant impact on the world of opera and classical singing. This award is richly deserved.”
Mrs Wright studied English at Newcastle University and worked in teaching and journalism before founding Samling Institute.
She said: “Music and particularly singing has always been a very important part of my life. There is something very precious about the power of the human voice and it has been such a privilege to help so many young people to find their own voices. I’m immensely proud of all the artists who have passed through our programmes and to see their achievements in opera houses, concert halls and recordings across the world is an honour in itself.”