Camilla Kerslake
It's tempting to say Camilla Kerslake has the kind of voice that can hush a crowd or cause it to roar approval, one that can bring tears to the eyes or make the human heart soar. But the fact is that there isn't a 'kind of' voice like Camilla's. Hers really is that rare and elusive thing, a one-of-a-kind. "I listened to her demo and instantly was captivated by it," admits Gary Barlow. "It's a unique and powerful instrument." The singer-songwriter, Take That star and astute businessman didn't stop at pure admiration though. Certain of her potential for future success, he sought immediately to sign her to his new record label, Future, and declares himself excited to have brought her on board. Now, with Camilla's debut album scheduled for autumn release, one thing is certain - a new star is most definitely born.
More than a little daunting, perhaps, for an artist who has only just turned 21 to find herself plucked from music school and put into the recording studio with producer Mike Hedges, famed for his work with U2, the Manic Street Preachers and Dido among many highly-successful others. Luckily Camilla, while hugely grateful for the good fortune that has befallen her, is also secure in her musical gift and in her sense of self. As such, she is remaining grounded and is taking the experience in her stride. "Gary's one of the biggest talents in the whole of the British music industry and an amazing mentor. How lucky am I? Any advice he gives me is going to be incredible." Equally, she is learning daily about what does and does not suit her pure and vaulting classical voice, a coloratura soprano.
Just how wide is its range, incidentally? "On a good day and with the wind behind me, I've got about four octaves." Even so, it's not an operatic voice? "Katherine Jenkins is operatic, being a trained vocalist with a rich and fully-rounded sound. I, on the other hand, being previously untrained (Camilla is now working with the head of musical theatre at the Royal Academy Mary Hammond to strengthen and preserve her vocal chords) am more like a boy soprano, someone who can sing so lightly and so high that, in the upper ranges, I become almost like an instrument. And that's why the material we've chosen is not operatic crossover but classical, to which my voice lends itself so much better." Hence audiences will be introduced to Camilla via her interpretations of music that has been loved not just for months or years but, in many cases, for centuries.
(Official 2009 biography)
