About Thomas Erlank

 Thomas Erlank hails from Cape Town, and is a lecturer at the Nort-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa. He teaches Vocal Pedagogy, Vocal Literature, Lyric Diction, Applied Singing, supervises students, and is currently working towards completing a Doctorate in Music Performance. His research currently focuses on Music Performance Anxiety and the mitigation thereof through means of Emotion Regulation strategies. His qualifications include a Diploma in Practical Music from The University of Stellenbosch, a Graduate Diploma in Vocal Performance, a Master of Performance in Opera Vocal Performance, and an Artist Diploma in Opera from the Royal College of Music, London, UK. Mr Erlank is a member on the Board of the National Association of Teachers of Singing South Africa Chapter where he manages membership recruitment and retainment, along with the chapter’s social media profiles.
Since arriving back in South Africa, Mr Erlank has presented masterclasses at the Cape Town Songmakers' Guild, Cape Town Opera, Neues Lied Festival competition, and Stellenbosch University. He has served as jury member for the Neues Lied Festival competition which took place during August 2022. Furthermore, Mr Erlank has presented a paper, Exploring how Emotion Regulation strategies could mitigate Music Performance Anxiety through Action Research, at the NATS South Africa Chapter inaugural conference during July 2023.
Mr Erlank has received numerous scholarships and grants for his international study including the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust Bursary, the Gisela Gledhill scholarship, and the Annie Grice grant. Furthermore, Mr Erlank was the winner of the Mable Quick Singing competition at the Stellenbosch University Conservatory.
Mr Erlank has performed in concerts, opera and oratorios in South Africa, Europe, and Asia. After completing his post graduate studies at the Royal College of Music, he took up a position as soloist at the Zürich Opera company where he performed roles by Pergolesi, Handel, Beethoven, Monteverdi, Mozart, Poulenc, Pelzel, Evers, Strauss, Verdi, and Wagner. Some noteworthy performances include Hans Zender’s composed interpretation of Schubert’s Wineterreise, and Poulenc’s le Chevalier from Dialogue des Carmelite, both productions at the Zürich Opera company. During his time abroad, Mr Erlank has appeared in productions by Andreas Homoki, Tatjana Gürbaca, Jetske Mijnsen, Sebastian Baumgarten, Claus Guth, among other. He has worked with conductors such as Gianandrea Noseda, Markus Poshner, Francesco Ivan Ciampa, Tito Ceccherini, Jonathan Stockhammer, Laurence Cummings, Antonino Fogliani, Risto Joost, and others.