Soprano Seohyun Go wins Guildhall School’s Music Gold Medal 2025
Guildhall School of Music & Drama is thrilled to announce soprano Seohyun Go as the winner of this year’s Gold Medal, the School’s most prestigious music prize for outstanding musicians.
The prize is awarded to singers and instrumentalists in alternate years, and this year saw Seohyun and fellow finalists soprano Manon Ogwen Parry and baritone Redmond Sanders perform in a concert at Barbican Hall on Thursday 8 May.
The finalists presented a short programme accompanied by pianists Zany Denyer (for Manon Ogwen Parry), and Sooyeon Baik (for Redmond Sanders and Seohyun Go) in the first half, followed by a second half with Guildhall Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jonathan Stockhammer.
Seohyun’s winning performance of works by Marx, Respighi, 임태규 (Taekyu Lim), Liszt, Richard Strauss, Mozart and Ravel impressed both the audience and the judges.
The concert saw outstanding performances by finalists Manon Ogwen Parry, Redmond Sanders and Seohyun Go. Across 23 works showcasing the finalists’ vocal talent, each performer shared a variety of songs and arias with the audience, reflecting their artistic influences own heritage, with a range of international repertoire including music by Meirion Williams, 임태규 (Taekyu Lim), and John Ireland.
The evening also featured the world premiere of alumnus Ben Pease Barton’s HOLME, supported by the inaugural Jane Manning – Anthony Payne Award, with text by fellow alumnus David Bottomley, featuring Guildhall mezzo-soprano Karima El Demerdasch.
Winner of the Gold Medal, Seohyun Go says: “I’m so grateful that I won this competition, and so happy to share the stage with my fellow finalists Manon and Redmond, and the musicians in the Guildhall Symphony Orchestra. I would like to extend thanks to my teacher, Samantha Malk and my wonderful accompanist Sooyeon Baik for helping to create a magical evening”.
This year’s judges were Guildhall School’s Vice-Principal & Director of Music Armin Zanner, acclaimed baritone Christopher Maltman, Director of MWA Management Maria Mot, Artistic Director of Dutch National Opera Studio Rosemary Joshua, and soprano alumna Natalya Romaniw, a former Gold Medal winner who is now starring on the world's most prestigious opera stages.
Currently pursuing the first year of Opera Studies, South Korean soprano Seohyun Go began her postgraduate studies at Guildhall School in 2023 in the Vocal Studies department. She studies with Samantha Malk. Seohyun earned her Bachelor of Music from Seoul National University before becoming a Young Artist at the Opern Studio at the Korean National Opera in both 2021 and 2023. Her Young Artist performance highlights include a production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni as Donna Elvira and appearances in the Spring Gala Festival.
The Gold Medal marks Seohyun’s return to the Barbican Hall stage after appearing as the soprano soloist in Poulenc’s Gloria with the Guildhall Symphony Orchestra and Choir. As the 2024 recipient of Guildhall School’s Franz-Schubert-Institut Lieder Prize, Seohyun spent that summer immersed in German Lieder and poetry at the Franz-Schubert-Institut in Baden, Austria. Her current operatic repertoire spans a variety of roles such as Donna Anna Don Giovanni, Fiordiligi Così fan tutte, Violetta La traviata, title role Manon, Norina Don Pasquale, Controller Flight, title role Rodelinda and Queen of the Night The Magic Flute. Other notable performances include concerts at the Korean National Opera in 2022 and 2023, Daejeon Arts Centre in 2019 and 2022, Tonhalle in Zürich in 2022 and Baumgarten Hall in Vienna in 2022.
Seohyun’s studies at Guildhall School are supported by the Margaret Easton Scholarship and the Fishmongers Colyers-Edwards Bequest. She is also a Josephine Baker Trust Artist.
Guildhall School of Music & Drama’s Gold Medal award was founded and endowed by Sir H. Dixon Kimber in 1915. Since 1950 it has been open to singers and instrumentalists in alternate years. Previous winners include Jacqueline du Pré (1960), Tasmin Little (1986), Sir Bryn Terfel (1989), Anna Stéphany (2005), Anna-Liisa Bezrodny (2006) and Natalya Romaniw (2011).
Recent Gold Medal winners are forging impressive careers. Winner of the Gold Medal in 2021, baritone Thomas Mole is this season performing with Bayerische Staatsoper in performances of Pagliacci, Turandot, Le Grand Macabre, Hansel and Gretel, Lucrezia Borgia and Káťa Kabanová. In the coming seasons, Thomas returns to the Glyndebourne Festival to make a major role debut. Mezzo-soprano Alexandra Achillea Pouta, winner of Gold Medal in 2023, continues to perform with the Idrîsî ensemble, as well as having been supported as a Samling Young Artist in 2024. Last year’s winner, Strahinja Mitrović – the first double bassist to win the Gold Medal – continues his studies at Guildhall School, alongside his performing career. Strahinja has performed as part of Patrick McDowell’s show at London Fashion Week, a celebration of chamber music and ballet at the Royal Ballet and Opera and plans to give recitals at Wigmore Hall and as part of the Chipping Camden Festival. Strahinja has also been chosen as one of Classic FM’s 2025 ‘Rising Stars’.
The Gold Medal final is part of Guildhall School’s summer events season.
All images (c) David Monteith-Hodge (Photographise)