Singer • Model • Scholar • Actress • Producer

I've added some exciting modelling and singing gigs on both sides of the Atlantic to my calendar for early 2012: I'm walking for designer Phase 8 in the Liverpool Fashion Festival and for a bridal boutique at the Bredbury Hall Wedding Show in Cheshire; modelling at the York's Festival of Vintage, and with a group of London plus model for a magazine publication; I'm singing at a private wedding in York, including a work composed by the bride herself; and finally I'm very pleased to announce I'll be making my North American debut as a Baritone with the Buffalo Chamber Players at their 'Women in Music' concert, singing works by Barbara Strozzi, Hildegard, and more.

GREAT NEWS - I am now officially represented by the #1 casting director in the UK, Mark Summers! I first became aware of Mark when he was a judge on BBC 3's Britain's Missing Top Model in which my friends Kelly and Debbie participated. When his agency decided to open their books, 2000 applied and 100 were accepted, so it's nice to be in the top 5% of something. Mark has personally cast some of the biggest media events in the world such as Michael Jackson's “This Is It” tour and now he's my agent, so this is very exciting.

It's with a mix of sadness and relief that I announce I am no longer part of the team at Models of Diversity. It is such a fantastic organization that I will always fully support, but I've decided to focus on my singing, modelling and acting career. Still flying the flag for plus models everywhere and still supporting diversity in fashion!

Models of Diversity's history-making show Curves in Couture of the top healthy, curvy plus models in the world was the talk of the London fashions scene last week! We've had tons of positive press so I don't even know where to start, but as Event Manager I'm most proud of our reviews in Vogue Italia Curvy, More! Magazine, and from the government itself. I'm especially proud that both the British Fashion Council and a Minister of Parliament were such strong supporters of the event. I was also one of the plus models walking in the MoD Diversity Show. Learn more about this history-making event and view images from the gallery here. And you can view some videos of the event featuring me here.

I've been booked for two more magazine articles -- one in UK-based The People in Dec 2011, and a fashion spread & interview for American plus magazine Skorch in early 2012.

I'm really excited to release information about Curves in Couture, a charity catwalk show of healthy, curvy models supported by the British Fashion Council, produced by Models of Diversity. I'm Event Manager and one of the plus models walking in the MoD Diversity Show. Learn more about this history-making event here, and get some of the few tickets remaining for sale to the general public. It's going to be AMAZING...

Lots of news so far this month... I was just booked as one of three plus models in The British Bridal Exposition Harrogate, the largest and most prestigious bridal exhibition in Europe! It's a 3-day trade show for industry insiders and gets massive international press. I'm featured in issues of Just as Beautiful, and Anti-Body magazines coming out this week. I did an interview with Psychologies Magazine and after the photoshoot is scheduled I'll know when the issue's coming out. I was appointed Head Event Coordinator for the history-making catwalk show Curves in Couture that Models of Diversity is running in November, featuring top international plus models wearing high fashion. And finally, I'll be singing with Vivaldi's Women at the East Finchley Music Fest in early October.

My featured interview on the fashion blog Urbanity Chic is now live, please check it out!

Lauren Ding, an all-star top blogger, was the stylist for my Diva Magazine shoot -- please read her awesome behind-the-scenes blog about the shoot here on Pocket Rocket Fashion. It was so fun, such an incredible group of people!

I'm finally going into the studio to record a proper performance DVD of Emily Kalies' noitcelfeRReflection next week. At the world-premiere the audio and video both died halfway through; then we performed it an a academic conference so we couldn't film; then it was meant to be recorded with a brand-new film backing in Dublin, but I was unable at attend due to a health crises; and finally a snow storm prevented another chance. So the 5th time must be the charm!

Also, I was just invited to sing as a Tenor in a workshop at the Uni Music Department next week on Alessandro Striggio's astounding Mass in 40 parts (1566) lead by Robert Hollingworth of I Fagiolini. I've had the great pleasure of working with Robert before as a singer and scholar (he advised my PhD dissertation, and actually started me on my path as a female Baritone).

And in weirder news, I hit a low F# the other day! Yep, you read that right -- the one at the bottom of the bass stave.

As of this week, my fashion editorial spread in Diva Magazine is out! I'm really excited, Diva is Europe-wide with a distribution in the millions. I've also been hired as a fit model with La Senza. And a shoot I did for Models of Diversity in London a few weeks back will be published by at least 2 magazines in the UK -- look for that later this summer.

I appear on websites of stylists and other fashion industry professionals with whom I've worked lately: photographer Jackie Clitheroe who took my old Hollywood glamour photos; photographer Michael Cheetham produced my old Comp Cards; I'm the featured model on the Events page for make-up artist Natalie Greenwell; and you can see images from my session with stylist Riccardo Hoyte.

More great model news - I am now hired as a fit model for Burberry's, I've been interviewed for a featured model profile on Urbanity Chic, and I'm appearing in a national print ad and film advert for a bra store. Plus a really awesome shoot in London this weekend that will be published in some magazines!

Very exciting news - I have been cast in 2 Baritone lead roles (Tempo, Consiglio) in Cavalieri's Rappresentatione di Anima et di Corpo! We'll premiere the production in Venice in September, then we'll tour the UK this autmun as well. Joy!

This is Model Madness Month! In April alone, I am shooting for More! Magazine and Diva Magazine; I am being filmed as one of the House of Fraser's new fit models; I walked in the Fashion City York show and was the only model praised and mentioned by name by the compere/ MC; I'm the new Face of a forthcoming plus clothing company (very high profile so I have to keep the details secret untill the launch); finally, I portrayed Catherine Deneuve and Sophia Loren in a Hollywood glamour shoot! Sometime this summer I'll be flying to the Riviera for a St. Tropez yacht shoot, and my postponed Evolve Magazine cover and feature shoot should be soon. You can read the article about FCY and see my photos in The York Press, and view the video from Fashion City York here (I am featured at minute 3 on): http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_sYnPfDQ48A

Just got some great news from the world of singing, I have been selected to perform in a fabulous early Baroque opera, again under the direction of Philip Thorby, in Italy and the UK! Emilio De'Cavalieri's 1600 masterwork Rappresentatione di Anima et di Corpo will be performed in Venice and in the Norfolk or Suffolk area in a semi-staged performance with period instruments.

I was not able to make it to Dublin for my big performance this month. I am DEEPLY disappointed, but it just goes to show if you're in good health then you are very lucky. I always have to fight my health problems to achieve all my dreams and ambitions, but this battle was too big for me. All I can do is focus on the positive and move forward towards the future... hopefully I'll get a chance to perform the work at Sensorium Berlin and Italy.

I have been promoted at work - I am now the Head PA to the co-founder and chief agent of Models of Diversity. It's more responsibility, but I really love the work! View this video about our casting call for Oxford Fashion Week; watch out for me starting at 0:55 in this video here:

I've been chosen as the Face of a new forthcoming plus clothing line, we're shooting the S/S 12 ad campaign in Huddersfield this month.

Very exciting news - I am now available for sale on iTunes, CDBaby, and Amazon! Vivaldi's Women (SPAV) has just released our first CD Vivaldi - Gloria to accompany the DVD of the same name, which can be ordered directly from us or here. Listen closely to the Bass section!

York City Council announces Fashion City York, founded to celebrate York as a unique fashion destination. The owner of Swirl Clothing has asked me to sport their designs in the catwalk show on April 2nd. While I'm very lucky to work in London, I think there is a lot of talent up here in Yorkshire, and I'm proud to be part of this event, click here to learn more.

Through my company, Trinacria Productions, I am teaming with recording engineer David Rose to produce a CD, for commerical sale, experimenting with surround-sound placement in early music, contemporary works, electro-acoustic forms, and more. Featuring in this will be Juniper, my female trio.

A happy new year to all of you! My 2010 was an amazing year, many highs, with some terrible lows, but on the whole it was one of the best years of my life. I have some fantastic modelling, singing and acting opportunities coming in the next months, including a new design for this website, so stay tuned right here!

The debut performance of HIDden Theatre, under Trinacria Productions, was a success! We opened my new theatre company at the British Museum to great acclaim, followed by a performance in York, equally well-received.

Amazing news - after a competition for dozens of excellent plus models, I have been chosen as the Face of a new lingerie company for plus size women, launching in 2011! This is really exciting, and I cannot wait.

I have been asked to join a new choir founded in York called The Clerkes of All Saints, as a Tenor (of course!). I'm also starting to do a lot of subbing/ repping (singing as a ringer) locally, which I'm very much enjoying. But most exciting? I have been chosen as a Model and Presenter for the Evolve Magazine Launch party in London on December 18th! Evolve Magazine is the UK's top fashion and style magazine created for the fuller figured fabulous woman.

I have just been cast as an extra in a feature noir movie, filming in London, playing a singer in a night club in 1950s France. It will be made to compete in festivals such as Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and the Short Film Academy Awards.

Composer and fellow female Bass Chloë Clifford-Frith is writing a duet for Suzanne and herself. This is a fully unique, so look for the world-premiere of this female Baritone-Bass duet.

I am now officially a Founder and Producer at HIDden Theatre.

I have just made a big change in my life, a bit scary and a bit sad, but very positive and optimistic. I'm going to embrace my performance career -- singing, acting and modelling, as well as being a diversity activist -- full time. I'm really looking forward to the future, so many amazing things have come my way in the last 6 months... onwards and upwards!

Great news from the world of modelling: I am now on the books at a great agency in London called Daniel Browne Street Agency.

I was just cast in the lead role as The Model in a movie called Bananana, filming in London, which is set in the 1950s! I'm playing a Bettie Page-type actress. Principle photography starts this week, so stay tuned for more information... View the finished film here:

Mary E. Larew and David Rose are co-producing a surround-sound album of medieval music-dramas celebrating Easter, in which I feature prominently as a soloist. This exciting and unique CD recording will be released in 2011, and Viriditas Opera will tour Quem Queritis: Medieval Easter Dramas in the US and Britain in spring of that year.

The Head of Programming at the British Museum was so impressed with our performance in the York Mystery Plays, we have been invited to present Medieval Christmas dramas at the prestigious museum this December! Our new historical theatre troupe, HIDden Theatre, has asked my company Trinacria Productions to produce the event. I will also star in the plays as an actress! This is very exciting, and gratifying to know all our hard work in the mystery plays payed off.

I was offered a job as Assistant to Riccardo Hoyte, Head Stylist and PA to Angel Sinclair, at Models of Diversity and Sinclair Management! I am now officialy a paid staff member of the Team, as well as a featured model, fighting for equal representation in the fashion and modeling industry.

Please view this trailer for Vivaldi's Women's new DVD, on our YouTube Channel. And visit the SPAV website to purchase your own copy. Soon, the audio tracks will be available on iTunes for purchase as well, check back for updates on this.

Another paper proposal has been accepted for an academic conference; this one is "Collaborations in Practice Led Research," for the University of Leeds and the Royal Musical Association Postgraduate Study Day in late October. I will co-present this Lecture-Demo with composer Emily Kalies, including a performance of noitcelfeRReflection in "Reflecting on Reflection: Examining the Composer-Performer Partnership."

I have been asked to sit on the Committee of York Cantores Choir, which I joined this past spring - our news website will be up soon. I especially look forward to giving input into future repertoire!

Juniper, my female trio, has just been booked by the Harrogate International Festival to sing at the Hotel du Vin in Harrogate, for the 'Thank Festival it's Friday' series. Composer FL Dunkin Wedd is composing a song cycle for us based on the Exeter Riddle Book, to be premiered in the late 2010 season -- check back soon for further details about dates and repertoire...

Playing the lead role (baritone) of Sancho Panza, I will appear in The Three Don Quixotes, a Viriditas Opera production, directed by Graham Bier. This comic opera mash-up is based on music-dramas by Purcell, Telemann and Boismortier, and will take place at the Music at Paxton Festival near Berwick-upon-Tweed,

My paper proposal on my dissertation topic was just accepted by the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Music Network, a study group of the RMA based at Oxford. I will give the talk in late September 2010 at the conference Re-examining the Transition from the Renaissance to the Baroque, about which you can find more information here.

I am now a part of the team at Models of Diversity in London! Run by model and agent Angel Sinclair, MoD aims to challenge the fashion industry by supporting models of all races, sizes, shape and ability levels. Look for me on London catwalks, in the media, and in fashion shoots, in July -- see the Calendar for more detail. In addition to modeling with the organization, I will be part of the political campaign - find us at Covent Garden on 11 June.

Announcing the official launch of Trinacria Productions!
collaboration across the arts - a facilitating network
Sue and her partner have co-founded a new artists' network. We are a York, UK based consortium of artists, collaborating between different art forms and disciplines, in order to create new and unique artistic expressions. We have a generous and expansive view of arts and creativity, exploring where they overlap, with an emphasis on collaboration. Find out more at our website and Facebook page.

I was just hired by the Centre for LifeLong Learning at the University of York to teach a class, Spring Term 2011. This will be a version of a course I taught in the States called Sacred Musics of the World, see my sample syllabus on the Research page.

The play's the thing... I have been cast in one of the lead roles in the 2010 York Mystery Plays. This event takes place only every 4 years, and I'm very excited to be a lead role in the play "The Transfiguration," as John the Apostle. On 11 and 18 July, and on 6 June at the York Carnival, The Lords of Misrule will perform the play four times in locations throughout town, including the Museum Gardens and Dean's Court, on a movable wagon! The York Mystery Cycle began as an expression of guild solidarity in York in 1376 and continued until 1568; the tradition was revived in 1951. See the Calendar and York Mystery Plays for more information - this event is held in conjunction with the York Early Music Festival.

I have just joined York Cantores, a chamber choir based in the city, as a Tenor. Upcoming performances include the 6 Bach motets, Entente Cordiale, and Bushes & Briars. See the Calendar for more information.

"Unter dem Zug zu singen." At the Hall of Harmonies concert on 27 February at The National Railway Museum, I will sing the Tenor solo "Nigra sum" from Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610, with a Javanese gamelan accompaniment, from underneath an old train! The text, taken from The Songs of Songs, is clearly in a female's voice, but Monteverdi chose to set it for a Tenor. We are seeing what happens when a female Tenor sings the beautiful aria. See the Calendar for more information.

I have just started a voice studio, giving lessons and tuition to female Tenors and Basses exclusively. Stay tuned to hear more about this... and last night, I got to come on stage on sing with my idol and most favorite singer/songwriter Neil Finn in London!

I am happy to say that I have been elected the new Student Representative on the Council of the Royal Musical Association. Two students hold this position in the entire UK, and in my first year of the appointment, I will sit on the Publications Committee, and contribute to the RMA Journal. This came on the heels of the very successful Students' Research Conference of the RMA hosted by University of York PostGrads in early 2010. Learn more about the RMA here.

I've just been asked to join a research network for scholars interested in Late Renaissance / Early Baroque music by colleagues at Oxford. We're planning a study day and conference in Oxford sometime in 2010...

I had a really amazing day yesterday, ending with some incredible news! First, I helped conduct a workshop for NorthEastern Early Music Forum on Venetian Christmas music, and although I have little directing experience, it went well and I got very good feedback. I conducted two works by Andrea Gabrieli, and met lots of great people. Then I came home to find that I have been accepted to a fantastic event: I have been invited to sing, as a Tenor, in the Monteverdi Vespers in Venice next September! 2010 is the 400-year anniversary of Monteverdi's masterwork (Vesperae Beatae Mariae Virginis 1610), and we will perform it, with period instruments, directed by the amazing Philip Thorby, in Venice at the Frari Church - where the master himself is buried! Only 10 singers were selected for this momentous occasion, and I will be singing some of the tenor solos. To perform one of my favorite pieces of all time, in the anniversary year, on the correct feast day, in Venice, in the main church - I mean, could this be any more incredible?!? 8 September 2010, 9.30 pm... And in other good upcoming news - I've been booked to perform Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire in Rome in the 2010-11 season! And look for a possible revival of the amazing opera Antigone in the next year...

All the publicity for Sensorium is out, and everything looks terrific. Sensorium presents a diverse evening of interactive visual, aural and haptic installation work and performances designed to stimulate the senses. Experience a series of immersive, cross-media artworks presented within winding paths and pockets of light in the Guildhall, York. I will give the world-premiere of noitcelfeRReflection by Emily Kalies, and my husband will contribute the graphic and digital art to another installation by Ms. Kalies. For more information, find us on Facebook, and explore our website and a preview in The Press.

My world-premiere performance of Ultime mie speranze by FL Dunkin Wedd, at the inangural concert of the Festival Medieterranea in Gozo, Malta got a fantastic response from the audience, and a great mention in the press; "Another singer who likewise enthralled the audience with the intriguing capacities of the female voice was Suzanne Fatta, whom Richard introduced as a 'female baritone'". Right now, you can find a recording and video of the song, with Richard Vendome on organ; soon, we'll post both on this website.

I just found out that I will give the world-premiere of the song Ultime mie speranze at the Festival Mediterranea in Gozo, Malta on 23 October. The song is a collaboration between the composer, FL Dunkin Wedd, and me, and the premiere will be accompanied by Richard Vendome on the organ. Please see the Calendar for more details.

Juniper is now on MySpace! We have posted some tracks from a recent recording, and you can listen to them here.

On Sunday 20 September at 7pm, Sky Arts TV airs the third of four episodes of the series Peter Ackroyd's Venice entitled "The City As Music" -- SPAV has provided the music, visuals and subject matter for this episode. Learn more about Vivaldi's Venice as demonstrated by SPAV. Our first DVD, made with footage from the documentary, will be available for purchase before Christmas 2009; this new performance of Vivaldi's Gloria will be broadcast by Sky Arts on Wednesday 23 September at 5.30.

Please watch this video to learn more about Schola Pietatis Antonio Vivaldi, our research methods and performance style. Based on the award-winning BBC broadcast Vivaldi's Women, this is a promotional video for our upcoming US Tour. If you're interested in bringing Vivaldi's Women to your city, then be sure to watch! You can also learn more about us in our own YouTube channel here.

SPAV's performance at the famous Chichester Festivities gained an excellent review in the Chichester press, as the most outstanding concert of the festival! "...Their period costumes make them look very authentic. The women cover the full traditional vocal range, soprano, alto, tenor and bass producing a beautiful combination of sounds. Their musicianship has great clarity and balance. They sang the famous Gloria with emphatic joy from the very first chords." Read more here. And we also got a great review from the Newbury press for the Hungerford concert, which was described as "a privilege and a delight... singular and beautiful... faultless... marvellous." The review is called Baroque's Glorious Girlpower and says, "Then came the highlight of the evening, the popular 'Gloria' performed as never before, energetic and with dynamic contrast in every line..." with special praise for the power of the Tenors and Basses.

Sue is participating in a new opera workshop on July 19, with composer Edward Caine and librettist Nikolaus Morris, to workshop a world-premiere opera. Through theatre, musical and improvisation workshops, the performers will work directly with the writers in the creative process. Read more about Edd here.

In solo songs news... the Kent-based composer FL Dunkin Wedd and Suzanne are working together. Laurie is composing a song for Sue, based on a text written by her great-grandfather, Paolo Oglioloro, in Italian; it will evoke the Sicilian emigrant experience. Please click here for more information about Laurie.

Sue has recently been appointed to a number of positions: the US Representative on the Board of SPAV; the Publicity and Marketing Director of Viriditas Opera; and one of the Programme Co-ordinators for the Student RMA Conference in January 2010, which will be hosted by the Post Graduate students at the University of York.

Sue will be featured in BAROCCA, which will premiere in the UK in the 2010 season. After fantastic reviews with a previous cast in Italy, we plan on performing this exciting and beautiful production in York, Oxford, France and Norway. BAROCCA, a multimedia Baroque dramatic extravaganza, is conceived of and directed by Gianmaria Romagnoli. Sue will sing the Alto solos in Pergolesi's Stabat Mater, and the role of Testo in Monteverdi's Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda (Ottavo libro, Madrigali dei guerrieri ed amorosi). This all-female production will also include a Vivaldi cantata, complete with stunning visuals and gorgeous costumes.

Sailing through The Cambridge Companion to Monteverdi by John Whenham and Richard Wistreich (2008, page 11), I read a paragraph which jumped off the page at me and made me whoop with job. It directly pertains to and necessitates the topic of my dissertation, and I think this is the most beautiful set of sentences I've read in a long time: "Again, Monteverdi is one of the earliest composers for whom we are tempted to associate the steps in his musical development with three rather neat geographical locations -- Cremona (1567 - 90), Mantua (1590 - 1612), and Venice (1613 - 43) -- and link them to his early, middle and late styles on the nineteenth-century 'progressive trajectory' model established for Bach (Weimar, Cothen, Leipzig), Mozart (Salzburg, Italy, Vienna) and other composers. Those who do not quite fit the style-place development model seem to have a harder time fixing themselves in our historical consciousness, no matter how talented. Among Monteverdi's contemporaries, Luca Marenzio and Sigismondo d'India may particularly have fallen into this historiographical trap, as is evidenced by their rather poor showing in the present performing and recording arenas."

Schola Pietatis Antonio Vivaldi ("Vivaldi's Women") announces their Summer Baroque Vocal Course 2009: Discover Your Voice, Monday 24 to Wednesday 26 August, at The Friends Meeting House in Oxford. Are you an undiscovered female tenor or bass? Or a soprano or contralto who would like to develop your technique? Would you like to sing baroque music with more style and flare? This three day course is open to amateur female singers of all ages and will culminate in a performance of Vivaldi?s spectacular Dixit Dominus, Gloria, and other works. The course will offer participants the opportunity to: learn more about the history of Vivaldi?s all-female choir (which included female tenors and basses) and orchestra at Venice?s Ospedale della Pietà; explore the vocal techniques and training methods which give Vivaldi?s Women their distinctive sound; explore your voice and vocal range, particularly the lower range; enjoy one-to-one tuition on Baroque vocal technique and style; and sing alongside mentors from the Vivaldi?s Women. Men are welcome to attend as observers at the concessionary rate. To find out more about the course, and to Register, please go to the SPAV website.

Sue will play the lead role of the Emperor, which is a Tenor part, in Hilary Nicholls' new satirical children's opera The Emperor's New Clothes. This Viriditas Opera production is part of the York Spring Festival of New Music, and is the first installment of The York Playbook, an ongoing collection of new music-dramas by York composers. The piece is based on the Hans Christian Andersen story, in which two fraudsters, posing as tailors, promise to make the King a suit of beautiful clothes that fools cannot see. Please consult the Calendar for more information.

Sue has formed a new female trio, Juniper, with sopranos Laura Kishimoto and Isabella von Holstein. We are working on repertiore as diverse as Viadana, Monteverdi, d'India, Luzzaschi, Poulenc, Bryars, and Roger Marsh. We will make our debut during the Harrogate International Festival, July 21 - 23. Please access the Calendar for more information about exact times and locations. See our beautiful website here.

Sue has joined the famous "Vivaldi's Women" (SPAV) choir, as Bass I, at the invitation of the Director. Schola Pietatis Antonio Vivaldi is an all-female ensemble of singers and players which aims to recreate the sound of Vivaldi's Figlie di Coro, those foundlings at Venice's Ospedale della Pietà, where the composer spent much of his career. It reflects both the age and vocal ranges of Vivaldi's musicians, with women aged 14 to 60+, some singing tenor and bass ? at pitch! You may have seen the award-winning BBC4 Documentary about them. Sue, with the choir and orchestra, filmed a documentary for Sky TV based on Peter Ackroyd's forthcoming book Venice, and recorded a DVD and CD in February, both of which will be available by the fall. For more information, see our website and Vivaldi's Women on YouTube.