Soprano Claire Groom PGDip, BMus(hons) graduated with distinction from the Royal Northern College of Music (School of Vocal and Opera studies) in 2005.  She studied with Barbara Robotham.

Whilst at the RNCM she was awarded the Joyce and Michael Kennedy Award for the Singing of Strauss, the Bruce Millar/Gulliver Prize for young opera singers, the Dame Eva Turner Award for potential dramatic soprano's and the Diva Opera Young Artist Award.  She has also been supported by the Amanda Roocroft Award, Robin Kay Memorial Prize for Opera Singing, Lucy Pierce Award and the John Cameron Prize for Lieder.

In 2005 Claire was awarded a coveted BBC Fame Academy Bursary worth £38'000 to fund her training and promotion.
She has since been enjoying an exciting concert and recital schedule. As an oratorio soloist she has extensively performed as a soloist all over the world. She has been invited to perform a number of times at the Royal Albert Hall (Handel's Messiah conducted by Sir David Willcocks, Mozart's Requiem and Haydn's Creation conducted by Brian Kay) and also at the Forbidden City Concert Hall, Beijing (Handel’s Messiah). She has sung at the BBC Proms, for Radio 3 and at venues such as the Bridgewater Hall, Colston Hall, Victoria and Albert Museum and The Wigmore Hall. Claire has a great love of Richard Strauss and has toured Germany singing the Vier Letzte Lieder.

In her final year at the RNCM Claire performed the lead role of Magda in Puccini's La Rondine to wide critical acclaim. Other roles whilst at the RNCM included Karen (A Better Place), Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), Rosalinda (Die Fledermaus, Clonter Opera), Fiorilla (Il Turco in Italia, Buxton Festival ) and Silvia (Ascanio in Alba, Buxton Festival).

She has since toured Europe singing the roles of Adina (L'Elisir D'Amore), Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi) and Donna Anna (Don Giovanni) for Diva Opera, Violetta (La Traviata) for the Mananan international Opera Festival, and Leila (The Pearl Fishers) for Swansea City Opera. For Diva opera, Claire also sang the role of Rosalinda in the party scene from Die Fledermaus, alongside Jose Carreras.
For European Chamber opera, Claire has extensively toured Asia and the UAE in the role of Dorabella (Cosi Fan Tutte). This attracted a lot of media attention as the first opera to have been performed in Kuwait.
 
Within contemporary music, Claire has worked closely with composers such as Andriessen (Hadewijch in De Materie- UK première). Pintscher (Lieder und Schneebilder at the BBC Proms/Radio 3), Sir Harrison Birtwistle (Nine Settings of Lorine Niedecker), Tovey (Requiem for a Charred Skull- UK premiere) and Gruber (Frankenstein!! at the Wigmore Hall).
 
Future engagements include principal soprano in Welsh National Opera’s newly commissioned opera film, ‘Horizons’, composed by John O’ Hara. She will then sing the role of ‘Then’ in another newly commissioned O’ Hara opera ‘The Barge’s Wife’ for the Three Choirs Festival/Mindsong, alongside Barbara Dickson.
 
Claire sings at prestigious events as a concert artist. She was invited by Italian designer Claudio Celiberti to perform a programme of Italian arias at the unveiling of the record-breaking 'worlds most expensive 1 million pound kitchen', in Mayfair, and has been invited to sing at a number of celebrity weddings.