Voice

 One of Britain's leading musicians and one of the most recorded artists in the world of concert and opera, John Shirley-Quirk is admired particularly for his performances of the vocal-orchestral repertoire.  He has performed with most of the leading conductors, including Claudio Abbado, Carlo Maria Giulini, Georg Solti, Mstislav Rostropovich, Bernard Haitink, André Previn, Seiji Ozawa and most of the major orchestras - including those of Amsterdam, Berlin, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, New York, London, Paris, Philadelphia and Vienna.

His discography encompasses well over 100 recordings on every major international label.  While his repertoire reaches back to the Classical and the Baroque periods he has always had an active association with new music.  His first operatic venture was in the first performance of Henze's Elegy for Young Lovers, but he has since created roles in Tippett's The Ice Break  and in all of Britten's last five operas, culminating in the virtuoso seven-fold role of the Traveller in Death in Venice, which was composed expressly for him.  Operatic engagements include performances for the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, English Opera Group, Scottish Opera and all the leading European and American houses.

John Shirley-Quirk has received numerous awards and appointments, including the CBE, honorary doctorates from Liverpool and Brunel universities, Honoray Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music and many Grammy Awards.