Guests attending the launch of Luke Jerram’s Gaia at St. Chad’s Church were treated to a moving performance by Prescot-born Soprano, Laura Hudson. Laura performed Bellini’s ‘Casta Diva’ and Schubert’s ‘Ave Maria’ to an audience of community champions and local leaders underneath the 6m replica of our planet.
Laura, a former pupil of Evelyn Primary School in Prescot first discovered classical music through Knowsley Youth Choir & Orchestra, later joining the St Helen’s Gilbert and Sullivan society which honed her talent and passion for singing.
Having trained as a Chemical Engineer, Laura decided instead to pursue a career in performance, winning a scholarship to the prestigious Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.
Since then, Laura has performed throughout the country in major dramatic roles but the COVID-19 pandemic brought her home to Prescot where she is now based but continues to perform at venues across the UK.
Cllr Shelley Powell, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Communities said: “To have a local performer like Laura help us launch one of the biggest events in our Borough of Culture programme, was an absolute privilege.
“Laura is living proof of the impact culture can have on a young person’s life, shaping their future through those early encounters and experiences. It’s a reminder of how important it is that we give young people in Knowsley access to cultural experiences, whether that’s in music, the arts, literature, sport, food or something else. And that’s exactly what we have set out to do in our year as Borough of Culture.”
You can watch Laura performing ‘La Mamma Morta’ from Andrea Chernier by Giordano at the 2007 Preston Opera Concert here
