Barbara Cole-Swinard

Barbara first joined Garsington Opera as a freelance chorister in the Monteverdi Vespers and then as a professional soloist in the Youth Company’s opera The Selfish Giant. Since then, she has also done some freelance admin and was delighted to join the team full time as L&P Coordinator in December 2022. Barbara grew up on Vancouver Island, Canada, before moving to Glasgow to train as a coloratura soprano at the RCS. She has greatly enjoyed a portfolio career as both singer and freelance administrator, even moonlighting as video & sound editor for a number of choirs during lockdown. Outside of Garsington, Barbara’s pursuits include working in her garden, building things with power tools, and curating the Instagram of her two cats, Bunbury and Cecily, @theimportanceofbeingcats.