Kammala jumla mai zuwa: An haife ta ne a York kuma ta girma a Yorkshire, Dawson tana tsammanin za ta ci gaba da al'adar aikin gona na iyalinta, kuma hakika waka ba ita ce sana'arta ta farko ba; da farko ta yi aiki a masana'antu a matsayin mai fassara. Koyaya, daga baya ta yi karatu a duka Makarantar Kiɗa ta Guildhall da Makarantar Britten <unk> Pears a Suffolk, inda malamai suka haɗa da Rae Woodland, Gerald Moore da Peter Pears. Lokacinta a matsayin ɗaliban kiɗa, duk da haka, an iyakance shi yayin da ta sami isasshen aikin ƙwararru don fara aiki kuma ta fara wasan opera a 1986 a matsayin Countess a cikin "Le Nozze di Figaro" (Kent Opera). Matsayin Dawson a matsayin ɗayan mashahuran mashahuran mashahuran mashahuran mashahuran Ingila ya tabbatar da aikinta a matsayin mai raɗaɗi a cikin "Libera me" daga Verdi's Requiem tare da Mawaƙan BBC a
Jana'izar Diana, Gimbiyar Wales a watan Satumbar 1997. Har yanzu tana ci gaba da aiki da jadawalin kiɗa, ita ce shugaban karatun murya da wasan opera a Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) da kuma Jami'ar York kuma Farfesa ce a Kwalejin Kiɗa ta Leeds.