Leilani graduated in 2022 with a Distinction in Vocal Performance from the Royal College of Music, where she studied with Sally Burgess as a Draper's Company Scholar supported by a Draper's Company Scholarship. In 2015, she graduated with a First Class Honours Degree in Music from Royal Holloway College where she was a choral scholar for three years and was awarded the Dame Felicity Lott Bursary. In competitions, she has received First Prize in The Courtney Kenny Award English Song Competition (2016) and was commended for her “appealingly rich sound” and “well chosen and heart-wrenching” programme of English Song. She was described as “highly musical and intelligent” when awarded a Commendation in the RCM Lieder Competition (2017), adjudicated by tenor Nicky Spence, and was 'Highly Commended' in The Mozart Singing Competition (2018), adjudicated by Audrey Hyland and Barbara Dix. An accomplished performer of Lieder, Leilani was involved in a project which explored the forgotten music of German composer Robert Kahn, and performed his music at the German Embassy in London and The Akademie der Künste in Berlin. She was a 2019 Leeds Lieder Young Artist with duo partner Brian Hughes and performed in live streamed masterclasses lead by Angelika Kirchschlager and Malcolm Martineau. Leilani and Brian continue to perform lieder recitals in London.
Leilani's has performed the operatic roles of Hansel and Dew Fairy (Hansel and Gretel), Nora (Riders to the Sea) and Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro) with companies including Westminster Opera, Diva Opera, Midsummer Opera and Opera Allegria. She is currently touring with Diva Opera singing 1st Soprano Chorus (L'elisir d'amore), Shepherd Boy (Tosca) and Countess Ceprano/Page (Rigoletto). In RCM Opera Scenes she performed the roles of Dorinda (Orlando), Susanna (Figaro), Mary Crawford (Mansfield Park), Laola (L'étoile), Pinocchio (The Adventures of Pinocchio), Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia) and Hélène (Une éducation manquée). Leilani has also performed and recorded with Opera Holland Park Chorus, the Philharmonia Chorus and Opera Rara.
A keen performer of lighter music, cabaret and jazz, Leilani has performed programmes of music by composers such as Cole Porter, Jerome Kern and George Gershwin at private venues and jazz festivals with pianist Neal Thornton. Their next project, soon to be announced, is an evening of music by the great Harold Arlen.
Leilani has been generously supported by the Arthur Souster Charitable Trust and The Aspinwall Educational Trust.
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