Emma Kirkby (soprano) is recognised as one of the world's greatest early music specialists. It is remarkable that she has become one of the most prominent names in her field, having been a classics student, at Somerville College, Oxford, and then an English teacher before her talent and profound ability were recognised - although a part in the Hanford Nativity Play was written especially for her, and has been performed annually ever since (see The Blackmore Vale Magazine Dec 2004). She was educated at Sherborne School for Girls. In 1999 Emma was voted Artist of the Year by Classic FM Radio listeners, and in November 2000 she received the Order of the British Empire. Despite all the recording activity, Emma still prefers live concerts, especially the pleasure of repeating programmes with colleagues; every occasion, every venue and every audience will combine to create something new from this wonderful repertoire. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.