"A lovely focused baritone voice and characterful stage presence."
-Planet Hugill
"King Hrothgar...
a sonorous Neil Balfour"
Indian-Scottish Neil Balfour is an award-winning Baritone, Voiceover Artist, Holistic Voice Coach and Minimalist Music Maker. He started his musical journey as a frontman in the pop-punk band Oversight before going on to study piano and conducting at Leeds Conservatoire. He then specialised in voice at The Royal Northern College of Music and is proud to be a Britten-Pears and Samling artist.
His love of modern and innovative vocal music has led to over 15 world premieres and performances including his own show at the Glastonbury Festival, Perfume Concerts at the Oxford International Song Festival, beatboxing at Longborough Festival Opera and the creation of many operas for young people.
Upcoming engagements include Jacob in Displaced (world premiere) for CoAlign; Bartley in Riders to the Sea (world premiere) for OperaUpClose; Love is a Spectrum (a recital celebrating neuro-divergence) for Thaxted Festival; and the premiere of Untold Lives (a new song cycle about Indian Soldiers in WWI created by Neil Balfour and Cheryl Frances-Hoad) for the Oxford International Song Festival.
Highlights include his American debut as Father in Thumbprint for Portland Opera; Humpty Dumpty in Alice Through the Looking Glass (world premiere) for the London Symphony Orchestra; Safin in The Shoemaker (world premiere) for Welsh National Opera; and Jean Arp in Sophie (world premiere) for Tête à Tête.
Neil is an sE Artist (world-class microphones) and is proud to be supported by Penhaligon’s British Perfumers, VivoBarefoot shoes, Mason Cycles, Hunt Wheels and Tailfin Bikepacking equipment for his endeavours to travel more sustainably.
Neil is also an adventure cyclist and his work as a voiceover artist has had over 100 million plays.
Steven Swales Artist Management represents Neil Balfour worldwide.
NATURAL | DYNAMIC | CLEAR
VOICEOVER
Neil Balfour is a Voiceover Artist with 15 years' experience. His natural voice is versatile, dynamic and clear. He specialises in commercial and narration as well as believable characters for animation and gaming. Fun Fact: Neil was the original artist (recording all voices) for the viral sensation that was Baby-Shark on the Little Angel Kids Channel.
Equipped with a TV broadcast quality home studio, Neil uses (and is endorsed by) sE Electronics Rupert Neve Tube microphones in an acoustically treated studio by GIK Acoustics.
Neil has recorded over 100 VO's for clients including Visa, NHS England, Barnardo's, NowPressPlay, Gear4Music, Little Angel and numerous radio stations. He is represented by agents in the UK and USA and his animation work has had well over 100 million plays.
COMMERCIAL
NARRATIVE
GAMES
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“Neil is a gifted actor, skilled audio technician, and by far the most professional voice talent I've had the pleasure of working with.”
- Jake Sanders - Director
“Neil was an audio director's dream. His range of voices and ability to adapt accents/timbre and energy is incredibly nuanced.”
- Anna Wheatley, Voice Director
"Neil's accents are strong and he brought the characters to life with a wide range of registers. The sound proofing/isolation on the [home studio] recordings was excellent.”
- Tim Bamber, Head of Sound for Now>Press>Play
HOLISTIC
VOICE COACH
“A Brilliant Teacher… Excellent Instruction… Fabulous, capable and oozing enthusiasm"
- Fenella Lindsell
Neil is a holistic voice coach with 20+years experience who celebrates the diversity of life, music and his learners. He coaches from a base of empowerment, demystifying technique and seeing the person as a whole.
“Do you want to sing? ... Do you feel like your voice just doesn't do what you want it to do? ... I am here to help you release the natural, powerful and authentic voice you absolutely have inside you!”
WHAT TO EXPECT?
Neil specialises in the voice, the piano, recording, performance psychology and producing new music. Neil loves guiding musicians to their optimum, free and full potential. His sessions start with relaxation of the body, followed by breath control. When comfortable, he will guide you to produce authentic primal sounds before sculpting it into the style and shapes you desire.
Neil loves coaching all genres, all instruments and all walks of life including: singers, voiceover artists, public speakers, composers and even heavy metal screamers!
QUALIFICATIONS
Neil is proud to be a Samling Artist, a former Britten-Pears Artist, a Master of Music (Voice) from the Royal Northern College of Music, a Bachelor of Arts (Music) from Leeds Conservatoire and has Grade 8’s in Singing, Piano and Guitar.
WORKSHOPS
Neil is also a highly trained conductor and animateur. His workshops range from leading audio-visual recordings and voice days to performance masterclasses and confidence building through authenticity. He has led sessions for choirs, local music services, the NHS, corporate businesses, primary and secondary schools, universities, music conservatoires and theatre companies.
He has worked as a singer on educational and community projects for the Royal Opera House, English Touring Opera, Opera North, Streetwise Opera, Leeds Song, Leeds Conservatoire and the &Piano Festival.
Neil enjoys facilitating any group of people who wish to let their voices and instruments speak with freedom, confidence and warm authenticity.
MINIMALIST
MUSIC MAKER
Neil is an award-winning Minimalist Music Maker. His music promotes conscious decision-making about time, energy, and relationships. He creates from a place of authenticity, valuing simplicity and rejecting superficial mass consumerism. He aims to highlight the beauty, essence, and true purpose in our lives. Neil works from his studio in Leeds recording live sounds with (sponsored) sE Electronics Rupert Neve Designs Microphones.
Highlights include best original score and best sound design from the Vesuvius International Film Festival for his work on the short film Sid, Meditations inspired by Glass for NHS key workers during the Covid-19 pandemic, an immersive-audio experience for 52 residents on Beechwood Mount in Leeds, a piano piece for the late Russian pianist Natalia Strelchenko and custom pieces for special occasions of all kinds.
PROJECTS +
LIVE
SHOWS
BORDERLANDSSun 14 SeptFremington
UNTOLD LIVES (Residency)Mon 22 SeptNorth Berwick
UNTOLD LIVES (World Premiere)Wed 15 OctHolywell Music Room
A LUDDITE PROPHECYDate and time is TBDLocation is TBD
DISPLACED (world premiere)Date and time is TBDWolwich Works
MADAMA BUTTERFLY
2023
UNTOLD LIVES
THE SPARK
In 2015, the British Library’s Untold Lives collection featured extracts from letters held in the India Office Records, written a century earlier by Indian soldiers serving in France or recovering from their wounds in the Indian hospitals based in England.
Around the same time, Neil Balfour discovered a picture of his Scottish grandfather during World War One, in military uniform and standing alongside an Indian soldier.
Exploring further, reading letters and discovering tales of both great bravery and great injustice, he was inspired to commission composer Cheryl Frances-Hoad to write a new song cycle, setting some of these texts.
SUPPORT
Supported by Arts Council England's Developing your own Creative Practice Fund Neil embarked on a journey of research at the British Library. He collected texts from the India Office Archives and collated them into a libretto for composer Cheryl Frances-Hoad.
Neil Balfour and pianist, Sid Ramchander will spend a week rehearsing Untold Lives and a unique new song programme with the support of the Samling and Song residency which is in turn supported by the Hugo Burge Foundation.
LIVE
Untold Lives premieres at The Oxford International Song Festival on the 15th October 2025. Expect a moving recital featuring a mix of spoken-word, song, ragas, chants, duets and an EBow!
In 2026, Untold Lives will be performed numerous times across the UK as well as being recorded by Neil and Sid.
THE PROGRAMME
Fluid
Nitin Sawhney / Natty
Three Songs from Athena
Shruthi Rajasekar / Athena Kildegaard
Bright is the ring of words
Ralph Vaughan-Williams
I Do Not Know What I Know
Reena Esmail / Rebecca Gayle Howell
Ode on the rejection of St. Cecilia
Gerald Finzi
Waitin’
William Bolcom
Waiting
Rabindranath Tagore
Untold Lives
Cheryl Frances-Hoad / Neil Balfour
RACE
TO ZERO
Neil Balfour believes in an inclusive, equitable and regenerative world for all people on our shared planet. At least 1% of all his profits go to human and environmental causes that help make these values a reality.
Recognising that climate change poses a threat to the economy, nature and society-at-large, Neil Balfour commits to take action immediately in order to:
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Instantly and dramatically reduce his carbon emissions
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Use green energy and products in all areas of life
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Use cycling, walking and public transport as primary modes of travel
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Eat an ultra- flexitarian diet
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Maintain net zero emissions
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Detail his progress on a yearly basis
In doing so, he is proud to be recognised by the United Nations Race to Zero campaign, and join governments, businesses, cities, regions, and universities around the world that share the same mission.
To date, Neil Balfour has offset 42 tonnes of carbon dioxide by supporting a Global portfolio of Verified Carbon Reduction Projects as well as planting trees across the UK and the Great Rift Valley, Kenya.
In recognition of Neil's efforts to continuously prove that cycling and walking are viable options for primary travel he is proud to be supported by VivoBarefoot shoes, Tailfin Bikepacking equipment, Hunt wheels and Mason Cycles.
