Linda Ormiston OBE was born in Motherwell, Scotland and graduated in Mathematics and Music from Glasgow University. She continued her studies at the RSAMD (now Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) and at the London Opera Centre and after a season with English Opera for All, joined Scottish Opera, for whom she sang more than 30 roles as a contract principal. In Britain, Linda has also appeared with English National Opera, Opera North, Welsh National Opera, New Sadlers Wells, Glyndebourne Festival and Opera Northern Ireland in a variety of roles ranging from Yente (Fiddler on the Roof) to Despina (Cosi fan Tutte). Other performances include Frankfurt, Nantes, Lausanne, Marseilles, Venice, the Aix en Provence and Salzburg Festivals and further afield, New York, Vancouver and Japan. She’s appeared at the St. Magnus, Covent Garden, Queens Belfast, Como, Chester and Buxton Festivals and with the baritone Donald Maxwell, in cabaret for a record seven years at the Edinburgh International Festival.
Linda teaches in the vocal department at the RCS and on the Music Theatre Course at the Dance School of Scotland and has given masterclasses throughout the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands. In July, 2019, Linda directed Puccini’s Suor Angelica and Sullivan’s The Zoo for The Hochschüle für Musik in Nürnberg. Linda has an honorary Doctorate of Music from St. Andrews University and was awarded an OBE for her services to opera.