The versatility and agility of Sophia Brumfitt’s voice has enabled her to work in areas which span the entire spectrum of early music; from Medieval to Early Classical- she has taken in Oratorio solos as well as singing traditional Celtic and Sephardic song. She now studies with Mary King and Nigel Rogers, had masterclasses with Emma Kirkby, Eric Mentzel, Maria Jonas, Gabriel Garrido and Michael Chance.
Like most English singers, Sophia Brumfitt started singing in choirs where she first discovered her love of Early Music. Girls weren’t allowed to sing in Anglican Church choirs at the time but, being a school choir, The South Wilts A Capella Choir were allowed to sing occasional services in some of the greatest cathedrals in the south of England, - St. Paul’s, Westminster Abbey, Salisbury Cathedral, and Exeter Cathedral to name a few. Sophia went on to study at Dartington College of Arts in Devon, at Lancaster University and then took English National Opera’s course for young professionals- The Knack. Sophia received her Post Graduate Diploma in Performance: Early Music from The Royal College of Music in summer 2000 where she studied with Lillian Watson and Margaret Cable.
In 2002 Sophia founded Rosa Mundi, a duo devoted to C17th and Renaissance music for plucked strings and voice with the Australian Lutenist Rosemary Hodgson. Designed to explore the exquisite music that bridges the renaissance and baroque styles, their tours in 2005 and 2006 offered a rare opportunity to hear this exciting duo breathe life into the music of a gentler age.
Rosa Mundi is also the title of their new c.d. of Italian and English Lute songs. The c.d. was launched on Midsummer 2007, and is now available through Sophia Brumfitt's and Maiseyday Music's websites.
Rosa Mundi programme titles:The Garden of Verses Songs, Lute solos and readings in honour of the English garden
Songs of Sundrie Kindes English music from the turn of the c16th. Focussing on the publication of Thomas Greaves’ first book of lute songs and John Dowland’s Lachrymae with its various adaptions and settings.
Zabaglione- a Musical Flummery Music from the beginning of the c17th, explores what happened when the English Renaissance met the birth of Italian Baroque.
Together they have toured through the UK and Australia. Concerts sold-out at their 2005 and 2006 tours at Salisbury Festival, Wilts.; St. David's Cathedral Festival, Pembrokeshire; The Merchant's House, Marlborough; Lauderdale House, Highgate; and Endicott House, Chagford, Devon.
She is a member of the Medieval ensembles Daughters of Elvin and Bardos Band. Sophia has appeared in other Baroque Concerts with The Hanbarne Ensemble, at St. Neot's Festival, and Utrecht Conservatrium with Phoenix Rising and as guest soloist.
In 2001 Sophia researched, presented, promoted and performed a programme of songs from the 1690s' London Stage.
Songs for Mary Hodgson is a concert consisting solely of music written for one of the first women to appear on the English Stage at the turn of the c17th with instrumental music from plays she was connected with. It is a vibrant and fascinating programme including music first heard at Drury Lane Theatre, Lincoln's Inn Fields and Dorset Gardens, for plays such as Congreve's The Way of the World and Don Quixote by Thomas d'Urfey. It includes some real favourites, like John Eccles' Love's but the Frailty of the Mind, and Sweeter than Roses by Henry Purcell. She and harpsichordist Robert Howarth revived this programme in June 2005 year for Salisbury Festival, for the Bloomsbury Festival at UCL Bloomsbury in London and for the Dolmetsch Christmas Lecture-Recital at the Merchant's House in Marlborough, Wilts.
The last couple of years have seen a huge variety, from an appearance on Radio 4's Woman's Hour talking about the enduring love song, a performance at a WitchFest at Fairfield Halls, and her acting debut at DownPatrick Opera Fringe Festival, Northern Ireland, in Anthony Blatchworth's Demetrius, Prince of Tuscany. Medieval events included Hexham Abbey Festival, Woodhouse Recorder Week and Music in Quiet Places in Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. Last year, she was delighted to make return visits to The King of Hearts Centre with Norfolk and Norwich Festival, to Salisbury Festival, Totnes Early Music Society, and Haslemere Museum courtesy of the Dolmetsch Foundation.