VOCALISTS
Anna Schubert
Soprano
Anna Schubert created the role of Bibi in the world premiere of Ellen Reid's Pulitzer Prize-winning opera prism with LA Opera and Beth Morrison Projects, and subsequently reprised the role at Theatro Municipal de São Paulo. She also created the roles of L in Anne LeBaron's LSD: The Opera, Klara in Vera Ivanova's The Double, and Lady Reason in Kate Soper's The Romance of the Rose. She has also performed the Controller in Jonathan Dove's Flight with Opera Omaha; Lise in the Philip Glass opera Les Enfants Terribles and Arianna in Handel's Giustino with Long Beach Opera; numerous appearances with the LA Master Chorale; Bernstein's Mass with the LA Phil; and Carmina Burana with Berkshire Choral International. She will join Long Beach Opera and the Martha Graham Dance Company as the soprano soloist in Kate Soper's Ipsa Dixit. She can be heard in the films Birds of Prey and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, as well as the Netflix series Midnight Mass and the HBO series Raised by Wolves. AnnaSchubertSoprano.com
Melanie Russell
Soprano
New Orleans area native Melanie Russell made her NYC debut in 2008 with Opera Omnia as Virtue/Damigella in The Coronation of Poppea. In addition to freelancing in the NYC area and around the US, she toured internationally for three years with Einstein on the Beach. She made her solo debut at Carnegie Hall in 2010 in Fauré’s Requiem. Her opera roles include Phoebe in The Cunning Man, Adele in Die Fledermaus, the Queen of the Night/ Pamina in The Magic Flute, Mme. Goldentrill in The Impresario and Aline in The Sorcerer. Theater credits include Marian in The Music Man, Tuptim in The King and I and Maria Elena Holly in Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story. Melanie holds an Artist Diploma in Voice from Yale University/ Institute of Sacred Music, as well as performance degrees from Loyola University New Orleans and Centenary College of Louisiana. MelanieRussellSoprano.com
Mari Øyrehagen
Soprano
Mari Øyrehagen is a Norwegian soprano currently residing in Copenhagen, Denmark. She started a bachelor degree in classical singing at the Norwegian Academy of Music, then finished her degree in Stuttgart at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst. She has performed as a soloist in works such as Stabat Mater by Pergolesi, Leçon de Ténèbres by Couperin, Mass in E-flat by Schubert, and several Bach cantatas. She has regularly performed as an ensemble singer with the Norwegian Soloists’ Choir. In 2020, Mari finished her master's degree in classical singing at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, where she studied under Susanna Eken and Helene Gjerris. She has performed as a soloist with the internationally renowned baroque orchestra Concerto Copenhagen, led by Lars Ulrik Mortensen. Since 2021, Mari has been a member of Vor Frue Kantori, the professional vocal ensemble in Copenhagen Cathedral (Vor Frue Kirke) where she regularly sings in the many services that are transmitted live on television and radio.
Hanne Marie le Fevre
Mezzo-Soprano
Hanne Marie le Fevre is a Danish performance artist and classically trained mezzo-soprano. She has a wide-ranging career involving solo performances in various oratorios and masses, to experimental installations and interdisciplinary collaborations with actors, dancers, writers, electronic and jazz musicians. Her heart beats for early and contemporary music – and of course some French chansons now and then. In 2014, Hanne finished her bachelor's degree from the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus and she is currently doing her masters at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen. In between she has taken private lessons in Paris. Hanne has been a member of Ars Nova Copenhagen since 2017 and also sings in Holmens Kantori & Vocal Ensemble and Musica Ficta. In addition to her work as a musician, Hanne works as a volunteer at Hjælp Voldsofre (Help Victims of Violence), where she is a mentor and facilitator for networking groups.
Laura Lamph
Mezzo-Soprano
Belfast born mezzo-soprano Laura is based in Denmark and enjoys a busy concert schedule in Europe as well as touring further afield. She began her professional singing life as a Lay Vicar Choral at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin. After a while living on a volcano in Sicily, she lived in London for several years where she performed with a variety of ensembles including Arcangelo, the Dunedin Consort, Siglo de Oro, Polyphony and the Gabrieli Consort. In Ireland, Laura has worked with Resurgam, Sestina and Chamber Choir Ireland. Laura is a regular member of Ars Nova Copenhagen and Theatre of Voices. Solo performances have included the role of Irene in Handel’s Theodora with the Irish Baroque Orchestra, Dido in Dido and Aeneas with Sestina, Handel’s Dixit Dominus with the Irish Chamber Orchestra and Copland’s In the Beginning with Chamber Choir Ireland. Laura sang Britten’s Phaedra with pianist Miles Lallemant and gave a recital at the Oxford and Cambridge Club in London as well as taking part in a series of lockdown concerts in the garden squares of Kensington and Earl’s Court. Recently Laura performed Handel’s Messiah and a concert of Handel duets with the Irish Baroque Orchestra and Peter Whelan at the Dublin Handel Festival and Vivaldi's Gloria and Steffani's Stabat Mater with Theatre of Voices and Paul Hillier. In her spare time, Laura manages Kensington Olympia Festival of Music and the Arts, a London based charity providing a platform for young musicians. LauraLamph.com
Iris Oja
Mezzo-Soprano
Estonian mezzo-soprano Iris Oja was from 2000 to 2011 lead alto soloist in the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. She performs with a variety of ensembles (Resonabilis, UMA, Theatre of Voices, Ars Nova), choirs (the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, the Coro Casa da Musica in Porto), orchestras, musicians, conductors and composers. She has also been involved in opera and other stage music projects, appearing in Eugene Onegin, Cavalleria Rusticana, Eesti Ballaadid by Tormis, Mattiesen's Pleasure of Creation and Liu Sola's The Afterlife of Li Jiantong. Iris is a much sought-after performer of contemporary music. Many new works by Estonian composers have been dedicated to her, which she has also premiered and recorded. She is a member of Resonabilis, a contemporary music ensemble consisting of a unique combination of voice, flute, cello and kannel. In 2012 Iris first collaborated with a unique jazz duo UMA (www.umamusic.com) and this has developed into a highly original project: the performance of Russian orthodox liturgical music with jazz improvisation. In 2008 Harmonia Mundi released Iris Oja's debut solo CD, accompanied by the English pianist Roger Vignoles, a selection of songs by Rachmaninov and Shostakovich. In 2008 Iris’s second solo CD, Moon Pain, was released; it features the contemporary Danish composer Klaus Ib Jorgensen’s six-part work for voice and chamber ensemble.
Luís Toscano
Tenor
After an early training as chorister in the Coro dos Pequenos Cantores de Coimbra, Portuguese tenor Luís Toscano continued his musical studies at Coimbra Conservatory, while also achieving a Licentiate Diploma in Economy from the University of Coimbra. He subsequently obtained a Portuguese Government scholarship to research, edit and perform 16th- and 17th-century Portuguese music, while completing his Masters in Music at the University of Aveiro. Presently, he is a PhD student in Art Studies / Music Studies at the University of Coimbra and researcher at the Centre of Classical and Humanistic Studies of the same institution. Alongside his position with Ars Nova Copenhagen, Luís is the music director and member of Cappella Musical Cupertino de Miranda. He is also co-founder of La Farsa and a member of Grupo de Fado Aeminium, Capela Gregoriana Psalterium and Coro Casa da Música. He works regularly with other groups, such as the Brabant Ensemble, Theatre of Voices, Contrapunctus, Musica Ficta, Vocal Ensemble and Ludovice Ensemble.
James Robinson
Tenor
James Robinson graduated with distinction from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2018, having done his undergraduate degree in music at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. A versatile artist, he works extensively both as an ensemble singer and a soloist. James was named one of Tenebrae’s Associate Artists for 2016/17 and has subsequently worked with many of the country’s top ensembles. Recent projects include work with Dunedin Consort, Solomon’s Knot, Ex Cathedra, Tenebrae, BBC singers, The OAE, English Voices, and The Gabrieli Consort. He has also worked in Europe with Le Concert D’Astree and Morgens Dahl Kammerkor. His solo work has included Britten's St Nicolas, Bach’s B Minor Mass at the St Endellion Easter Festival, Handel’s Israel in Egypt at Southwell Music Festival, Monteverdi’s Vespers in Llandaff and Winchester Cathedrals, and Mozart’s Requiem at Birmingham Symphony Hall and Hereford Cathedral. His operatic roles include both Damon and Acis in Handel’s Acis and Galatea, the Schoolmaster in The Cunning Little Vixen, Raguel in Dove’s Tobias and the Angel, and the Madwoman in Britten’s Curlew River. Other recent solo projects include numerous performances with a new classical music collective, Proud Songsters, as well as premiering a new arrangement of Schumann's Dichterliebe for string orchestra with Echo Ensemble. He fills his spare time by attempting to beat his father at tennis, playing football (as an erratic goalkeeper) and following the misfortunes of Charlton Athletic.
Jakob Skjoldborg
Tenor
Jakob Skjoldborg is a self-taught singer with a musical background in rock, musical and classical music. Besides his engagement with Ars Nova Copenhagen as both a singer and producer, he works on a regular basis with numerous other ensembles such as Theatre of Voices, DR Vokalensemblet, DR Koncertkoret, Mogens Dahl Kammerkor, Copenhagen Soloists and Holmens Vokalensemble. As a soloist he mainly sings renaissance, baroque and modern repertoire. He is co-founder of the Holmens Men's Quartet that melts hearts wherever they go. He has also released two critically acclaimed albums with the indie rock band Windermere. Jakob has a M.A. in communication and language psychology, which helps him a lot when dealing with his wife and three children.
Asger Lynge Petersen
Bass
Danish bass Asger Lynge Petersen trained as an oboist at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen. Shortly after his graduation in 2002, he joined the vocal group Ars Nova Copenhagen, and has since devoted his energy increasingly to singing, studying privately with teachers Poul Emborg and Kirsten Buhl. He is a member of the Danish National Radio Choir, and has appeared as soloist with Concerto Copenhagen and Theatre of Voices, among others.
Rasmus Kure Thomsen
Bass-Baritone
The Danish bass-baritone Rasmus Kure Thomsen has been a member of Ars Nova Copenhagen since 2021. He studied at the Royal Danish Music Conservatory with Johannes Mannov and graduated in 2011. He has performed with the DR VokalEnsemblet, Musica Ficta, Mogens Dahl Kammerkor, Teater Hedelands Operakor and Det Kgl. Operakor and Enghave Barok. He made his operatic debut in 2010 as the Commendatore/Masetoo in Don Giovanni at Valdemar Slot. He has recently sung Don Fabrizio in Bo Holten's opera Gesualdo - Shadows at Takkelloftet. He frequently performs as a cantata and oratorio soloist and has worked with, among other, Concerto Copenhagen, Storstrøms Kammerensemble and conductors such as Helmuth Rilling, Ton Koopman and Alfredo Bernardini. He is a permanent bassist in Trinitatis Barokensemble. His repertoire includes J.S. Bach's oratories, passions and cantatas, Handel's Messiah, Mendelssohn's Elijah, Fauré's Requiem, Duruflé's Requiem, Mozart's Requiem, Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem, Haydn's Creation, Nielsen's Fynsk Forår and Gade's Korsfarerne.
Mikkel Tuxen
Bass
Mikkel Tuxen has been a member of Ars Nova Copenhagen since 2018. He regularly performs with ensembles including DR KoncertKoret, Holmens Kantori og Vokalensemble, Kammerkoret Camerata and Christian IV's Vokalensemble.
