Josefien Stoppelenburg
Praised for her dazzling melismas and called “an astonishing singer” by the Chicago Tribune, Dutch soprano Josefien Stoppelenburg has performed as a soloist in Europe,The United States, Asia, South America, and the Arab Emirates.
Her appearance on Chicago’s classical radio program“Live from WFMT” was selected as one of the 10 best performances in 2016 and she has become one of the most sought after Baroque singers in the Chicago area. She is currently performing all over the United States as specialist of Baroque Music. and as a concert singer.
She won the Chicago Oratorio Award and second prize in The American Prize Opera Competition. Josefien gave vocal masterclasses about Baroque Music at Indiana University, (Jacobs School of Music) University of Colorado and Illinois State University.
Concerts this season include performances with the Rockford Symphony Orchestra, Baroque Music Festival Corona del Mar (California)Arizona Bach Festival, St Louis Bach Society, Rembrandt Chamber Musicians, Boulder Bach Festival, Champaign Urbana Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Bach Ensemble,Peoria Symphony Orchestra, Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra, Apollo Chorus of Chicago, the Peoria Bach Festival, and with Camerata Amsterdam (Netherlands). She will also be the soprano soloist in a series of Bach St Matthew Passions in the Netherlands this Spring.
From 2005 until 2007, Josefien was part of the Young Opera Ensemble of Cologne, Germany. Leading operatic roles have included Aci in the Haymarket Opera Company’s acclaimed production of Handel’s Aci, Galatea e Polifemo and Tirsi in Clori, Tirsi e Fileno, and Poulenc’s La Voix Humaine in the International Chamber Opera Festival (The Netherlands). She has appeared with Camerata Amsterdam, Dutch Radio Philharmonic Orkest, Noord Nederlands Orkest, Haymarket Opera Company, Baroque Artists of Champaign Urbana, Fulcrum Point and Music of the Baroque, Bloomington Bach Cantata Project and the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra.
Ensemble Brothers and Sisters (vocal duo Charlotte and Josefien Stoppelenburg and piano duo Martijn and Stefan Blaak) recently appeared live on Radio 4, the Dutch classical radio station for Classical Music and just made their ensemble debut in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
Many composers wrote especially for Josefien. She performed works by Jacob TV, Esa-Pekka Salonen , Stacy Garrop, Lita Grier, Eric Whitacre and William Neil, as well as works by Dutch composers, including her father, composer Willem Stoppelenburg. Josefien performed several times for Dutch Royal Family.
Stoppelenburg’s second love is painting. She was the Artist in Residence at the Evanston Art Center, where she gave a series of lectures about Art and Music, and organized performances and exhibitions. She paints frequently on commission. Her colorful paintings have been used as opera sets, cd booklets, (such as the 2017 cover for “Rainbow Toccatas, a CD by British organist and composer Paul Ayres), music festival posters ,and as note cards.