PENNY MARTIN

was born in the south west of England but started singing when her family moved to Malta. Both her parents were singers and with them she sang as soloist with the Malta Choral Society, and in the choir of St. Paul's Anglican Cathedral in Valletta. Later she took singing lessons in London with Julian Gardiner (Carl Rosa Opera) and later in Edinburgh.

She sang for two years with Edinburgh Grand Opera before returning to England and studying with Gavin Walton (Glyndebourne Opera Touring Co.) in Birmingham.

Her last rôle before leaving Britain to settle in France was Marcellina in 'The Marriage of Figaro'.

She has continued to give numerous recitals in the Burgundy region of France, in Holland and in Britain. As a member of the Autun Cathedral choir she acted as soloist in concerts with them over a three year period including concerts in Bonn and Cologne during the choir's German tour. In 2005 she recorded a CD of new playsongs for children to accompany the popular 'a Sackful of Songs' book by Jane Newberry (published by Cramer Music).

She has given several successful concerts in England organised by the actress Virginia McKenna and one of these, in 2006 she shared with her daughter Polly. A recent recital in France was shared with her younger daughter, Beth, also a singer.

In 2006 Penny was invited to Cranleigh School in Surrey to give a highly acclaimed masterclass, an experience she hopes to repeat. She and her husband live permanently in France.

POLLY MARTIN

Following in the footsteps of her maternal grandparents and her mother, Polly started singing from a very early age. She went to the Royal Hospital School in Suffolk at the age of 13 and immediately joined their excellent 70 strong choir and started taking singing lessons.

At school she sang in 'Grease' and 'West Side Story' as well as organising a concert with a fellow student where they sang numbers from a variety of musical shows and raised a very creditable amount for charity. In her final year at school Polly was head chorister and gained a distinction in Grade 8 singing.

She is now in her final year at the University of Manchester where she is reading Art History and Italian. Before a year studying in Italy in 2007, she was a member of the Manchester Philharmonic Choir, Manchester Harmony Gospel Choir and the university Choir and Orchestra Society.

She studied singing for 2 years with Thomas Eaglan from the Royal Northern College of Music. She has already sung with her mother in a recital in Coldharbour, Surrey and they have shared two concerts in France where Polly moved with her family at the age of five.