Ameral Gunson: Obituary

Ameral Gunson at JackdawsMezzo-Soprano Ameral Gunson studied singing at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Walter Gruner before joining the BBC Singers; she continued her studies with Otakar Kraus. After leaving the BBC Singers she quickly established a successful and varied solo career which has included performances throughout the UK, Europe and the Middle East. She included many operatic roles in her repertoire and appeared at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Alter Oper Frankfurt and the Turin and Helsinki opera houses. Her recordings for EMI and Chandos include Verdi’s Requiem, Janacek’s Glagolitic Mass with Simon Rattle and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia under Richard Hickox, and the Grammy award winning discs of Peter Grimes, also with Hickox.

As a vocal coach, Ameral was second to none. She taught at Jackdaws Music Education Trust for many years, and was one of their longest serving tutors. She attracted a devoted following of students who admired her sensitive, creative and thoughtful approach. Ameral’s annual “Singing and Imagination” weekend course was centered on her belief that “Singing is an activity first and foremost of the imagination,” encouraging pupils to bring props to stimulate their imagination whilst singing. She last visted Jackdaws in October 2016, when she announced plans to retire from teaching.

Ameral passed away in August 2017. She was 68.