Building communities and pushing boundaries in the worlds of tech and classical music. Founder. Opera singer. Public speaker.
Just add classical music.
A tech networking
night with a difference
Three months into working with SurrealDB, I woke with a jolt at 4AM, scribbling down ‘Tech and Tunes’ in my diary. In the lead up to the revelation I’d been having conversations with the tech community about networking nights, London’s meetup scene had been really impacted by the pandemic and people we’re keen for something more than just beers, bros and pizza.
My experience with DEBUT had taught me about the power of music to bring a room together and I’m a huge believer in the importance of cross collaboration. The tech world is booming, classical music is struggling, but what if we introduce more people from the world of tech to incredible artists, whilst also curating an environment that is supportive, dynamic and nourishes collaboration.
And so, TECH+TUNES was born, powered by SurrealDB (a huge shout out to our co-founders and brothers Jaime & Tobie who trusted me to bring this out of the box vision to life). We hold this networking night monthly at our HQ in Huckletree’s Oxford Street hub, it’s captured the community’s imagination, and has proved to be a huge hit.
Trailer
#SecretConcert
Classical music
experiences for our times
Connection. Collaboration. Celebration.
I founded DEBUT in 2015. Since then we’ve showcased 200+ brilliant emerging musicians, given over twenty artists their Royal Opera House recital debuts, launched Opera in a Day, run our first Artist Development Programme (Horizon Project) supported by Genesis Foundation, all on top of our monthly Secret Concert Series at Brunel Museum and Shoreditch Treehouse (No.1 Airbnb Music Experience Globally 2018).
In addition to showcasing top-level talent, we focus on building out the experience around the music, partnering with awesome food and drink companies including Midnight Apothecary and Apothecary East and unique venues at Shoreditch Treehouse and Brunel Museum. We love to create varied and dynamic programmes and place the hosted interactions with the musicians at the heart of our concerts, building human connection and fostering vibrant, fun and inspiring experiences.
I host monthly concerts with DEBUT, come join us. You’ll love it!
“Energetic & spine-tinglingly
good shows.
DEBUT showcases extremely talented classical musicians who play accessible, fun concerts in interesting & unusual spaces. Since 2015, they’ve put on hundreds of shows in places like lighthouses, ancient operating theatres and Victorian merchant ships, becoming magnets for effusively acclamatory reviews along the way.”
— The Nudge, The Definitive Insiders' Guide to London.”
Trailer
Something very special happens at these concerts
•
Absolutely joyous evening of music
•
A unique space oozing with atmosphere
•
A secret gem of London life
•
Something very special happens at these concerts • Absolutely joyous evening of music • A unique space oozing with atmosphere • A secret gem of London life •
Soprano
“Holmes portrayed Eurydice with luminous singing, sensitive acting and an impervious, sunlit poise before transforming herself into the all-too-vulnerable Silvia. This time, while her voice was just as radiant, her acting was even more compelling.”
— The Spectator
2023 has seen a shift in my focus.
Rather than opera contracts, my performance work is now predominantly in concerts, workshops, galas and recordings.
Get in touch if you’d like to collaborate.
Official Biography
British soprano Lizzie Holmes is a highly versatile singing actress who shares a love for collaboration and detailed storytelling. A keen spokesperson for classical music, Lizzie founded DEBUT “a great introduction to some of the best talent” (Opera Now) to throw open the doors to classical music through intimate concerts, workshops and events. She subsequently returns to the Royal College of Music as a Guest Lecturer on Creative Enterprise, and in 2022 was invited to become an advisor for Genesis Foundations’ Creative Innovators scheme and a Create and Sing Practitioner for the Royal Opera House.
Performance highlights include her Royal Opera House Crush Room recital debut and operatic debuts with Grange Park Opera, Wexford Festival Opera, Longborough Festival Opera, Arcola Theatre and Trafalgar Studios. Highlight roles include Mimi and Musetta in La Bohème, Silvia in Mascagni’s Zanetto, Cunegonde in Bernstein’s Candide, Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro and the title roles in The Coronation of Poppea, Hänsel und Gretel, Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice, Suor Angelica and Holst’s Sāvitri.
In concert Lizzie has appeared across the UK’s top concert halls: as headline soloist for Raymond Gubbay’s Johann Strauss Gala; she made her Barbican Hall debut on New Year’s Eve for their Viennese Gala; with the Bands of the Household Division at Cadogan Hall and in recital at St Martin-in-the-Fields and the Royal Albert Hall.
As an undergraduate Lizzie read English Literature at The University of Warwick, toured nationally with the award-winning devised theatre company curious directive and was awarded Best Supporting Actor at the National Student Drama Festival. Her masters took her to the Royal College of Music, after which Lizzie made her West End debut in The Phantom of the Opera and starred in the Olivier Nominated ‘Best New Opera’ La Bohème at Trafalgar Studios with King’s Head Theatre.
“A magnetic performance, Holmes explored Poppea’s fears and hopes with charismatic flair… playful, but brimming with erotic power.”
— Bachtrack
“Simply brilliant – both vocally and dramatically... Lizzie Holmes was the fine and memorably well-sung and energetically well-acted Despina
— Plays to See
“A highly intelligent singing actress… with a warm, fluent soprano and a beguiling stage presence.”
— Music OMH
“It breaks your heart to see the tragedy that Holmes brings to Silvia’s dilemma… her soprano cut through the heavy early evening air as her tragic fate overtook her”
— Broadway World
“Striking exactly the right bold tone was Lizzie Holmes as the armour-plated Strategist, a Vitellia incapable of remorse... sung with style and pizzaz.”
— Opera Magazine
Not your normal first hire for a deep tech company…
… But then again, SurrealDB isn’t your normal tech company.
Life’s magical, unexpected winding road.
When opportunity comes knocking…
February 2022, I was having a coffee meeting with the effervescent Jaime Morgan Hitchcock, sharing a business plan I had for a DEBUT project. It just so happened he and his brother, Tobie, were launching a new deep tech company, ‘the next big thing’.
Since officially joining SurrealDB as the first hire in December 2022, we now have a team of over 20, and are the fastest growing database of all time, recently listed as one of the Top 15 SaaS Companies in the UK. SurrealDB’s journey is just beginning but already we’ve built a powerful brand and community, not to mention the groundbreaking product itself. We’re disrupting the industry and redefining what it is to be a startup.
This new chapter has made me really appreciate one thing: how versatile, enterprising and skill-rich creative freelancers are. We are an asset to nearly any company, particularly new ones where nouse and can-do attitude is paramount.
Frensham
Freelancers are glorious.
Embracing the power of a portfolio career
I’ve lost count of the number of freelancers who I’ve spoken to who are embarrassed of their side-hustle, or additional jobs that actually makes a career as a performer viable. It’s a subject I care deeply about, having been a freelance artist for over a decade. It was, in fact, my side hustle DEBUT that powered my performance career and enabled me to make countless connections within the industry. As an opera singer in the UK it’s virtually impossible to make a financially secure career only doing singing contracts, the work is sparse, the fees are too low. It’s an industry wide issue that needs more focus.
I’m here to chat to anyone who would like someone in their corner to champion them and offer a sounding board for their ideas, goals and unique path. Get in touch.
