Catherine Bott studied at the Guildhall and then spent two years singing everything from Bach to Berio with the Swingles before leaving to begin her solo career. She is recognised as a virtuoso of early music: among her many recordings in this field are Bach’s St. John Passion with the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppaea with Sir John Eliot Gardiner and Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas with the Academy of Ancient Music, whose re-release last year was awarded a Diapason d’Or in France.

In contrast, she is much in demand by contemporary composers and has premiered and recorded works by Craig Armstrong, Jonathan Dove, Michael Nyman and Errollyn Wallen. Her two most recent CD releases are Delectatio Angeli, “an utter delight, outstanding” (International Record Review) and Convivencia, ”a rare commitment worthy of spoken theatre” (Gramophone).

Catherine Bott presents The Early Music Show on BBC Radio 3: she was a high-profile presenter of R3’s award-winning Bach Christmas programmes in December 2005, and in May this year will be giving a series of talks on the music of Bach in Germany.