12 March 2025
We, at Pegasus Opera Company, are heartbroken to hear of the passing of Michael Harper, mentor on our Opera Mentoring Programme, and former Associate Artistic Director and Chorus Master for Pegasus Opera. Michael was an extraordinary vocal coach and was a Professor of Singing at the Royal Northern College of Music. His knowledge of art songs by African-heritage composers is unsurpassed, and Pegasus is indebted to him for sharing his knowledge, artistry, and graciousness with us. He was loved by his mentees and by all of us at Pegasus.
May he rest in peace. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his partner, his family, friends and students.
Alison Buchanan, Artistic Director at Pegasus Opera, said “The British vocal community has lost an extraordinary visionary with the passing of Michael Harper. Michael’s calm, nurturing, kind yet candid approach made him the perfect mentor and teacher. I am so glad that our artists had the opportunity to be inspired by him, benefitting from his immense technical knowledge, his vast understanding of repertoire and from his ability to bolster their confidence and empower them. Michael served as Assistant Artistic Director for Pegasus when our founder was alive and in recent years he supported and encouraged me on my journey as Artistic Director for the company, always gracious and generous with his time, always with a smile.”
Melvin Claridge, Talent Director at Pegasus Opera added, “Michael was a dear colleague, friend and mentor to me. He was a generous, thoughtful, considerate soul, and so very wise. He always had sage words of advice; always encouraging and supportive, but very honest, with wit. I was honoured when he asked me to be an adjudicator at the Williams-Howard Prize at the RNCM earlier this year, and was saddened that due to his health, he was unable to attend. I missed him that evening and will miss him throughout my life.”
Joshua Elmore, a countertenor mentored by Michael reminisced on his training with him, “I first met Michael Harper through the Pegasus Opera Mentoring Scheme in 2020. From the first singing lesson we had together, it was evident that he had an extremely analytical ear for music and singing. Over the years, Michael had done wonders for my voice and helped me overcome many barriers. He was also an incredible mentor. He fully supported me in my career and offered advice and guidance wherever necessary. I absolutely cherished these times as these wise bits of insight proved extremely vital for my development.
Outside of singing, Michael and I became good friends as we soon discovered that we shared a lot of similarities and viewpoints. After our lessons, we’d spend time just chatting about life, politics, food, and whatever else was going on in our lives and the world. I left our singing lessons feeling reenergised and ready to tackle any obstacle that was thrown my way. I admired him and his work so much and looked up to him as a black artist trailblazing the world of classical singing. I will miss him dearly and will continue to practice all of the beautiful things he has taught me.”
