Britain’s best-selling classical artist of the last 25 years, Katherine Jenkins O.B.E. today announces the release of her new album, Guiding Light, out 30th November via Decca Records.
The release is also accompanied by the announcement of Katherine’s new 2019 tour An Evening With Katherine Jenkins, with pre-sale tickets available from September 5th and on general sale from Friday 7th September.
For Katherine, the new album represents the culmination of a deeply emotional journey which began when her beloved father, Selwyn, died and found a new path when she became a mother. It is an album which speaks of life, hope, acceptance and a universal spirituality, and for Katherine there is a sense of a greater purpose to her performance.
The LP includes 15 brand new tracks featuring Katherine’s personal favourites new and old; from the time honoured Make Me a Channel of Your Peace and Morning Has Broken to covers of Stormzy’s Blinded By Your Grace and Never Enough from The Greatest Showman, alongside original material including Xander’s Song, written for the newest addition to her family, her son born earlier this year.
The Welsh mezzo-soprano says, “I have a life now I don’t think I ever expected to have”, Jenkins says. “I am very happy, very blessed and I feel incredibly grateful. I feel whole new layers of emotion which have really taken me by surprise and made me feel like I have found myself, found my true voice.
My voice has changed. This album is the most intimate album I have ever made. It’s a mindful collections of songs. I’m not trying to prove anything, I’m not trying to show how many notes I can hit, I just want to take people to a place of emotion and reflection – to touch hearts and souls.
Cherished as one of Britain’s all-time favourite singers, last year Katherine was officially crowned The No.1 selling ‘Classical Music Artist of the Last 25 Years’ by Classic FM, and made chart history when her last album, Celebration became her 12th U.K. Classical No.1 album in 12 years. These record-breaking achievements cemented Katherine’s position as the world’s most prolific artist in U.K. Classical chart history.
As one of the U.K.’s greatest musical exports, multi-award-winning Katherine has performed all over the world, for the Pope, for Presidents and is a favourite of the Royal Family, having been invited to sing God Save The Queen at Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee, perform at Her Majesty’s Coronation Concerts at Buckingham Palace and more recently, by special request at Her Majesty’s 90th birthday celebrations at Windsor Castle.
She has embarked upon numerous sold out tours and duetted with such names as Placido Domingo, Andrea Bocelli, Jose Carreras, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Bryn Terfel, Rolando Villazon, and Il Divo, amongst others. Katherine was awarded an OBE at the 2014 New Year’s Honours List for her services to music and charity. Last year, she wowed audiences and critics alike with her stellar performance as Julie Jordan in Lonny Price’s semi-staged production of Carousel at the London Coliseum.
Katherine will be touring new album, Guiding Light this April and May, performing 18 English dates, alongside concerts in Glasgow, Belfast and Dublin, plus Cardiff and Llandudno in her native Wales, she will be performing at the Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool on Saturday 4th May. She will be joined by one of the U.K.s’ most versatile orchestras, The London Concert Orchestra, under Musical Director Anthony Inglis for the majority of the tour. The orchestra can be heard regularly at the Barbican, Royal Festival Hall and The Royal Albert Hall, providing audiences with an eclectic repertoire from popular classics and opera, to hits from films and musicals. The London Concert Orchestra has worked with Katherine for the last two years in her series of hugely popular Christmas concerts.
The Ulster Orchestra will be accompanying Katherine for the two Irish dates of the 2019 tour. Based in Belfast, The Ulster Orchestra is Northern Ireland’s flagship arts organisation and its players comprise the only professional symphony orchestra in the region. The Orchestra performs regularly for B.B.C. Radio 3 and Radio Ulster, including participating in the annual B.B.C. Proms in the Park celebrations.