Classical Duo (Voice and Piano)

Hannah and James met as students at the Royal Northern College of Music, where they started performing together as a duo. Their musicality and passion shines through, and their deep understanding of one another as musicians leads to an assured and intuitive performance. They have performed together on numerous occasions, and enjoy putting on solo recitals. Their most recent engagement saw them performing Elgar’s Sea Pictures at Elmslie House in March 2025. Born in Norwich, James Smith started playing piano at the age of 6, and now studies at the Royal Northern College of Music with world-renowned tutor, Dr Stephen Savage. He has performed extensively during his time at the RNCM, playing Mozart, Chopin, Debussy and much more. He has also been involved with several different projects, such as playing in orchestras dedicated to performing new compositions, exciting new ensembles such as piano sextets and taking part in masterclasses with world class performers such as Kathryn Stott and Stephen Hough. Now in his fourth year of study, James has received high praise for his powerful, emotive and intuitive playing. He is looking forward to performing in more projects in the years to come both as a soloist and chamber musician, and continuing his studies having obtained a scholarship to pursue a master's in performance at the RNCM. Hannah Just is a Worcester-born mezzo soprano, who studied under the tutelage of renowned opera singer, Yvonne Howard at the Royal Northern College of Music. She has worked closely with the BBC on numerous occasions, Bradford Chorale as a soloist for both Vivaldi's Gloria and Andrew Wright's A Requiem For Peace, and as part of a charity opera gala at Worcester's Guildhall in 2022. Hannah has sung as part of the CBSO Youth Chorus, often performing at Birmingham Symphony Hall under conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle and Sir Mark Elder. She also performed in the Symphony Chorus of Bernstein's Mass at The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, conducted by Clark Rundell, as part of the RNCM 50th| Anniversary Celebrations. Hannah's operatic experience includes, 'Dido' in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, (Leeds Conservatoire 2021), '2nd Genii" in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte at| York Theatre Royal (York Opera 2021), chorus in Strauss' Die Fledermaus (RNCM 2022), and as 'Miss Rose' in Delibes' Lakmé (RNCM Opera Scenes 2024). Hannah is excited to be celebrating the work of Elgar in their shared home county.