YMF, March 2005
CATHERINE MILLEDGE was born in Monmouthshire, and in 1995 went to Jesus College, Oxford to read Classics and English. After graduating with a first, she joined the postgraduate piano accompaniment course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, studying with Joan Havill, Eugene Asti, John York and Iain Burnside, and in masterclasses given by Graham Johnson, Malcolm Martineau, Roger Vignoles and Martin Katz. She received a distinction for her postgraduate diploma as well as the MMus degree and the School Accompaniment Prize. Her studies were assisted by scholarships from the Countess of Munster Musical Trust and the Sir Henry Richardson Awards, and she went on to win prizes including Birmingham Accompanist of the Year 2001, Second Prize for Pianists at the Wigmore Hall International Song Competition and the JBR / Parnell Award for accompaniment from the Royal Overseas League.
As an accompanist and chamber musician, Catherine has performed in London venues including the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Wigmore Hall, St. John's Smith Square, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Bishopsgate Hall and St. Giles' Cripplegate. She has given recitals at the Edinburgh, Presteigne, Mayfair and Deal festivals as well as for music societies around the country and in France, Germany and Iceland. She participated in the Songmakers' Almanac Young Songmakers concert and masterclasses in 2000 and 2002 and, more recently, in a 'Song in Collaboration' programme at the Banff Centre, Canada.