Baritone Tom Mole wins Guildhall School's Gold Medal

British baritone Tom Mole was awarded the Guildhall School's Gold Medal on 6 May.

His performance included Rachmaninov’s V molchanyi nochi taynoy (In the silence of the secret night),Wolf’s Mörike-Lieder: Abschied (Farewell), Wolf’s Schon streckt’ ich aus im Bett die müden Glieder (I had already stretched out my weary limbs in bed), Finzi’s The Phantom: Earth and Air and Rain and Moss’ The Floral Dance, accompanied by pianist Inês Costa.

The other Gold Medal finalists were tenor Thando Mjandana, soprano Laura Lolita Perešivana and soprano Olivia Boen.

The finalists performed in front of a panel that included Professor Jonathan Vaughan, vice-principal & director of music at Guildhall School; Huw Humphreys, head of music at the Barbican; Gweneth Ann Rand, soprano and alumna; Jordan de Souza, conductor; and the evening’s conductor Natalie Murray Beale.

Mole said: ‘It’s been a privilege and an honour to perform in the Gold Medal final, and to join the list of previous winners; it is something I am going to hold very fond memories of when I look back on my time at Guildhall School.

'Watching the competition when I first joined the conservatoire as a nervous 18 year old it never occurred to me that one day I might be able to compete on that stage for the Gold Medal, let alone win; I am absolutely thrilled. I am thankful for the incredible support of everyone around me, not least my teacher John Evans, my parents, my girlfriend Inês Costa who played with me for the piano round, and Guildhall’s Head of Opera Dominic Wheeler who has been so supportive in what has been a tricky year for us all.’

The Gold Medal award was founded and endowed by Sir H Dixon Kimber in 1915, and has continued annually. Previous winners include William Primrose (1922), Jacqueline du Pré (1960), Patricia Rozario (1979), Tasmin Little (1986) and Sir Bryn Terfel (1989).

The 2021 Gold Medal is dedicated to the memory of Adrian Thorne, highly regarded teacher, colleague and member of Guildhall School’s community for over 50 years.

The Gold Medal final is part of Guildhall School’s online summer season, all of which is free to view on the School’s website.