Tormey Woods

Tormey Woods is a talented bass opera singer based in Montpellier, France, who has been performing operas with the Opera Junior at the Opera Orchestre National de Montpellier since 2014, when he was 14. Since September 2015 Tormey has been a full member of the Chœur Symphonique de Montpellier and regularly performs alongside them and since September 2016 Tormey has been studying in the Conservatoire a Rayonnement Regional d'Avignon in Cycle 2 of Lyric Singing under the capable hands of Beatrix Taquini.

So far in 2016 Tormey has performed in the New Year's concert in the Opera Berlioz with the Opera Orchestre National de Montpellier as well as three concerts with the Chœur Symphonique de Montpellier. He is currently preparing for his role as Grabuge (known for the “Bold Gendarmes” duet) in the up-coming production of Genevieve de Brabant by Opera Junior on 13 & 14 May 2016, as well as performances in the Festival de Radio France from 11 to 13 July 2016.

Tormey took part in a recording in Sonic Studios, London, of a Charity Christmas Album as part of the project Peace in Our Name, which sheds light on the plight of the refugees around the world and the terrible situation which still remains today in Iraq. Peace In Our Name donates all profits to charity. The next CD will focus on Syria.

In July 2015 Tormey sang in the Festival de Musique d’Aix-en-Provence in the International Opera Awards nominated “The Monster in the Maze”, composed by Jonathan Dove, as a member of the “14 Athenians” sent into the Minotaur’s maze. The opera was performed in the Grand Théâtre de Provence with the London Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of the legendary Sir Simon Rattle.

In June 2015 Tormey was approached by the Chœur Symphonique de Montpellier’s president, Yves Secq, and invited to perform with them in the Arènes de Nîmes under the direction of Oscar winning composer Ennio Morricone and the Rome Symphonic Orchestra in a concert of his most famous compositions. The concert was a huge success and the arena was filled with over twenty thousand spectators.

Tormey played “The Bench” in L’Enfant et les Sortilège first in March 2015 and then again later that year in December 2015 in the Opera Comedie with the Opera Orchestre National de Montpellier.​​

When Tormey auditioned for the Opera Junior branch of the Opera Orchestre National de Montpellier, he had no prior singing experience. For the audition he was required to present two arias in front of Vincent Recolin, the choir master of Opéra Junior, and Jerome Pillement, the director of Opéra Junior and conductor for the Opéra Orchestre National de Montpellier. He prepared for the audition with his positively wonderful singing teacher Julie Tourreau and was accepted after having presented his first aria. Since then he has also been taught by Nicholas Rivenq as a member of Opéra Junior.

In 2014, at the age of fourteen, Tormey studied and passed ‘The Arts Past and Present’, the first part of a degree level course with the Open University. During this time he was also part of the theatre group Théâtre Le Point Com. Tormey’s prior experience also includes seven years’ acting with Le Cours des Miracles, led by Kevin Major.

Tormey Woods was born in November, 1999, in the city of London. At the age of three he moved to a small village, Couiza, in the south of France. He and his family stayed in this area of the Aude until they moved to the city of Montpellier in 2013, where he currently resides.

Tormey speaks fluent English and French, has written a science-fiction novel and practiced karate for nine years as well as having five extraordinarily cute cats.