Australian born, Gillian completed her undergraduate training at the West Australian Conservatorium of Music, moving on to the Young Artist Programme with West Australian Opera. After winning multiple prizes in the prestigious Australian Singing Competition she travelled to England to take up a scholarship at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. There she was generously supported by the Peter Moores Foundation, the Tait Foundation and the Ian Potter Foundation of Australia, and completed both her Post Graduate Diploma and Professional Performance Diploma with Distinction. She was also awarded the Ricordi Prize for Opera and the John Cameron Award for Lieder.

Operatic engagements include Fiordiligi Cosí fan Tutte (Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Glyndebourne Touring Opera, Budapest Festival Orchestra), the title role in Rodelinda (Iford Festival with Christian Curnyn), Donna Anna Don Giovanni, Vitellia La Clemenza di Tito (English Touring Opera), Rosalinde Die Fledermaus (Glyndebourne Touring Opera), First Niece Peter Grimes (ENO), Second Niece Peter Grimes (Teatro di San Carlo, Napoli), Aci Aci, Galatea e Polifemo (London Handel Festival), Tytania A Midsummer Night’s Dream (English Touring Opera), Yum Yum The Mikado (Carl Rosa), Anne Truelove The Rake’s Progress (RNCM), Valencienne The Merry Widow (West Australian Opera) and Clorinda La Cenerentola (Ryedale Festival, RNCM).

Concert appearances include the BBC Proms performance as First Niece Peter Grimes with English National Opera, Aci Aci, Galatea e Polifemo for the Goettingen International Handel Festival under Laurence Cummings, Messiah with Paul McCreesh/Orquestra Filharmonica de Gran Canaria, Bach’s St John Passion for Teatro Comunale di Bologna and Angelic Voice in Korngold’s Das Wunder der Heliane with the LPO/Jurowski. Gillian has performed solo recitals at the London Handel Festival, St James’ Piccadilly, and the Royal Over-seas League, London, and her song repertoire ranges from Grieg and Debussy to Schumann, Wolf and Rachmaninov. She has also recorded two recitals for ABC Classic FM Radio (Australia) and appeared on BBC Radio Three’s In Tune.

Recent highlights include the soprano soloist in “Fireworks”, a series of Rossini concerts with English Touring Opera and the title role in Donizetti’s Rita for West Green House. She sings the role of Juno in the world premiere recording of Thomas Arne’s The Judgement of Paris, soon to be released by Dutton recordings.