Camille Maalawy

Camille has achieved notable acclaim for bridging both musical and cultural divides.  Born to a Coptic Egyptian father and English mother, her extensive and diverse repertoire includes opera, oratorio, lieder and Arabic and Jewish music. Her CD Daughter of Arabia draws on her cultural heritage as well as showcasing her vocal talent.  Camille recently completed a PRS Foundation Resonance residency with Opera North, where she explored the diversity of her cultural heritage more deeply, creating a new song cycle, Mezzaterra (Meeting Point), which received its first performance at this year’s Tête à Tête festival.

Camille sang the Egyptian composer, Nahla Mattar’s Songs on Colloquial Arabic at the Royal Opera House Engender Festival in July 2021. Other notable engagements have included Camille’s debuts at Grimeborn in 2019, in the role of Mother in Bushra El-Turk’s Silk Moth and at the Wigmore Hall with the Liverpool Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, singing the UK premiere of two pieces by the Palestinian composer, Patrick Lama. Camille champions the work of contemporary composers, most recently premiering four new vocal works in ‘Notes About Now’; a collaboration between London Sinfonietta and Poet in the City. Other highlights have seen Camille singing the role of Anna in Tobias and the Angel; Reciter in Walton’s Facade, Murder in the Cathedral (Iris Theatre); the world premiere of Song of Songs (Ken Burton); chamber recitals with the Amos Ensemble, and several premieres for composer, Julian Dawes.

Camille reached the final of the International Israeli Music Competition in 2008. Around that time, she also appeared regularly with the Iraqi-Jewish ensemble, Rivers of Babylon, as well as creating the role of Lola in Pocket the Clown (Jim Marcovitch) at Battersea Arts Centre. Camille has performed numerous times with her own ensemble of Arabic and Jewish musicians and as a solo concert performer. Performances of note have included Music Beyond Frontiers, a concert of Arabic and Jewish music with Hilda Bronstein, as part of the Sing London Festival; a recital to support the Friends of Bereaved Families Forum: Israeli-Palestinian Families for Peace (LSO St. Lukes); concerts with the Choir of London, under the baton of John Rutter and performances for the charity Hafla which promotes Middle Eastern co-existence. Camille has also performed for the charities, Live Music Now and Music in Hospitals, and has twice taken the role of Musician in Residence at the Jewish Christian Muslim Conference in Germany.

Her passion for embracing music from many cultures has brought her success and accolades not only as a performer but also as an educator, working with children and young people across a wide range of communities including Tower Hamlets, Hemel Hempstead, and South Oxhey (Watford). Her current work in education includes working as a Choral Practitioner for the Voices Foundation in schools in Grimsby and Bradford, a Workshop Leader for the Royal College of Music Sparks programme, as well as delivering the Create and Sing training for the Royal Opera House.