Biography
Blessed with a four-octave vocal range, classical crossover artist Camilla Kerslake launched her professional path through the unexpected mentorship of Take That’s Gary Barlow. Born in 1988 in Dulwich, South London, she relocated as an infant with her mother to Auckland, New Zealand, where an early passion for classical music took root before the family returned to the U.K. when she turned eight. Lacking resources for formal classical instruction, she pursued contemporary vocal training instead and supported her studies at the Guildford Academy of Contemporary Music through performances across the local club scene. At twenty, she was dismissed from a manufactured girl band on grounds of being “too old,” yet soon learned that her longtime idol Gary Barlow was launching an independent label. Demonstrating determination, she repeatedly delivered her self-produced recording of Schubert’s Ave Maria to the London facilities where he was working, persisting for six weeks until he signed her as Future Records’ inaugural artist. Postponing her final year of study, she completed her self-titled debut album in 2009 under producer Mike Hedges (Manic Street Preachers), which included an Italian-language version of her mentor’s song “Rule the World.” Her interpretation of the Christian hymn “How Can I Keep from Singing” was selected for a major supermarket advertising campaign, she sang the National Anthem at the 2010 League Cup Final held at Wembley Stadium, and she assumed the lead role in the West End staging of Les Misérables. In 2011 she issued her second LP, Moments, blending pop, musical theater, and classical selections.
Singles
