Royal College of Music Vocal & Opera Faculty appoints internationally acclaimed musicians as new professors
Wednesday 10 June 2026
Esteemed musicians Neal Davies, Robert Murray, Benjamin Appl, Arwel Treharne Morgan, Neil Baker and Matthew Marriott will join the Royal College of Music (RCM) Vocal & Opera Faculty this September.
Audrey Hyland, Head of Vocal & Opera at the Royal College of Music, commented: ‘After the recent appointments of Mary Nelson, Sarah Tynan and Sophie Bevan, we are absolutely delighted to welcome several new professors to the Vocal & Opera Faculty at the Royal College of Music, strengthening our already exceptional team.’
Neal Davies is a distinguished bass-baritone, having collaborated with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Cleveland and Philharmonia Orchestras, and has sung all the major Mozart roles with Welsh National Opera, Royal Opera and English National Opera for over 30 years. Winner of the 1991 Cardiff Singer of the World Lieder Prize, he returned to the competition in 2021 as a member of the jury. He is a regular guest of the Edinburgh International Festival and BBC Proms and has an extensive discography of over 70 recordings.
Robert Murray is one of Britain’s leading lyric tenors, internationally admired for the breadth of his repertoire across opera, concert, and recital performance. A graduate of Newcastle University, the Royal College of Music and the National Opera Studio, he was also a Jette Parker Young Artist at the Royal Opera House. He began his career with the Monteverdi Choir, The Sixteen and the Gabrieli Consort & Players before establishing an international solo career. Alongside performance, he is committed to teaching and mentoring young singers.
Widely regarded as one of today’s leading recitalists, baritone Benjamin Appl appears at major venues including Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Philharmonie de Paris, Vienna Konzerthaus and the Musée du Louvre. A former BBC New Generation Artist, Wigmore Hall Emerging Artist and ECHO Rising Star, he was named Gramophone Young Artist of the Year in 2016. After signing exclusively to Sony Classical, he later began a multi-album collaboration with Alpha Classics, including an acclaimed recording of Schubert’s Winterreise.
Arwel Treharne Morgan is a London-based vocal coach whose students benefit from a wealth of experience at the highest levels of professional performance. His early performing career took him to internationally recognised venues and festivals – including the Royal Festival Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Wigmore Hall, Lincoln Center New York, and the Royal Opera House – as well as frequent broadcasts on BBC Radio 3. Arwel has devoted most of his working life to his prolific singing studio, where he brings his insights to bear in developing singers at all stages.
Baritone Neil Baker is recognised for both his international performing career and his significant impact as a voice teacher. He began his professional singing career in the Glyndebourne Festival Chorus and has performed extensive operatic repertoire and as a concert soloist at major venues and festivals throughout Europe, including the Salzburg Festival, the Barbican Centre and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Neil began teaching in 2003 and has since established an international reputation as a voice teacher, with students performing at many of the world’s leading opera houses.
Matthew Marriott is a British former operatic tenor and began his musical training as a specialist musician at Wells Cathedral School. As a teacher for over twenty years, Matthew has established an international reputation for developing young singers, with students progressing to major institutions and professional programmes in the UK, Scandinavia, the USA, and across Europe. He is in demand internationally as a teacher and masterclass leader and is regularly invited to give masterclasses and to work as a visiting professor at summer programmes and festivals across Europe.
Discover more about studying in the Royal College of Music Vocal & Opera Faculty, where exceptional young singers are prepared for a successful performing career.
