Pavlina Ivanova is in her fourth year of a Master of Arts (Honours) degree in Italian and Spanish with Music at the University of St Andrews. She recently returned from a year abroad at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, where she continued her vocal development, performing regularly with the university choir and vocal ensemble. During this time, she began private lessons with the renowned bel canto specialist Sherman Lowe.
At St Andrews, Pavlina is a Vocal Scholar and has sung with St Leonard’s Chapel Choir. Her operatic roles include the title role in Puccini’s Suor Angelica and Belinda in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas with the St Andrews Chamber Opera Group. She has also performed the roles of Iseult in Martin’s Le Vin herbé, and Maria Bertram in Dove’s Mansfield Park, and was a soloist in Sondheim’s Side by Side with Byre Opera.
Pavlina’s vocal training includes participation in masterclasses with Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Lucy Schaufer and pianist Roy Howat. She completed the St Andrews Vocal Pedagogy Course under internationally recognised pedagogues Kari Ragan, Heidi Moss Erickson, and Jenevora Williams. Ivanova holds ABRSM Grade 8 with distinction in Classical Singing and Guitar.
Her work has received recognition, including First Prize in the St Andrews John Ireland Competition for Singers and Pianists (2024), the Cedric Thorpe Davie Memorial Award for Outstanding Contribution to Musical Drama, and multiple top prizes at the Perform in Perth Festival. She has also featured as a soloist in the St Andrews Vocal Scholar Showcase, Italian Opera Concert, and in multiple recitals with Jambouree Choir and the Cabaret Singers. Pavlina performed as a soloist in Bach’s Magnificat with the St Andrews Chorus in 2024 and looks forward to singing with them again in Brahms’s A German Requiem.