Lorelei Ensemble & Beth Willer
Biography Lorelei Ensemble & Beth Willer
Lorelei Ensemble
Heralded for its “full-bodied and radiant sound” (The New York Times) and “stunning precision of harmony, intonation, and... spectacular virtuosity” (Gramophone Magazine), Lorelei Ensemble is recognized across the globe for its bold and inventive programs that champion the extraordinary flexibility and virtuosity of the human voice. Led by founder and artistic director Beth Willer, Lorelei has established an inspiring mission, curating culturally-relevant and artistically audacious programs that stretch and challenge the expectations of artists and audiences alike.
Lorelei Ensemble is creating a living repertoire for a living audience, working with today’s leading composers to commission more than 60 new works that expand and deepen the repertoire of sounds, timbres, words and stories that women use to reflect and challenge our world. This new repertoire for women’s and treble voices demands fierce flexibility and openness from each artist and listener, allowing unparalleled music making that is born from the unique position of power and cultural influence that women hold. Collaborating composers include David Lang, Julia Wolfe, George Benjamin, Kati Agócs, Lisa Bielawa, Kareem Roustom, Jessica Meyer, and many more. Current projects and commissions include Julia Wolfe’s Her Story, Christopher Cerrone’s Beaufort Scales, and Ayanna Woods’ Look Up.
Recordings document and preserve the work of Lorelei and its collaborators for future artists and audiences. On the New Focus, Sono Luminus, Cantaloupe, and BMOP Sound labels, Lorelei has recorded the music of living composers Kati Agócs, Peter Gilbert, James Kallembach, David Lang, Jessica Meyer, and Scott Ordway, as well as historical repertoires from William Billings, Guillaume Du Fay, Alfred Schnittke, Tōru Takemitsu, the Turin Codex, and the Codex Calixtinus. Recent releases include David Lang’s love fail (Cantaloupe 2020) and Impermanence (Sono Luminus 2018). In 2022, Lorelei Ensemble will release a recording of James Kallembach’s Antigone: The Writings of Sophie Scholl on New Focus Recordings.
Lorelei Ensemble maintains a robust national touring schedule, including recent collaborations with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, A Far Cry, and Cantus, and performances at celebrated venues across the country, including Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Tanglewood Music Center, and Boston's Symphony Hall. Performances in future seasons are planned with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, and Nashville Symphony Orchestra.
Committed to education, Lorelei is empowering young artists to be our next creative leaders through its work with rising performers and composers at children’s choirs, high schools, and colleges and universities across the country. Cultivating both individual and collaborative artistry, Lorelei helps young artists hone their skills to become flexible, perceptive, and open-minded musicians. Past residencies include work with ensembles and composers at Harvard University, Yale University, Duke University, Bucknell University, University of Iowa, and Cornell University.
Founded in Boston in 2007, Lorelei Ensemble’s artists are based across the United States and maintain active performing and teaching schedules.
Beth Willer
Noted for her “directorial command” and “technical expertise" and commitment to the contemporary vocal art, Founder and Artistic Director Beth Willer has led Lorelei Ensemble since 2007 to become recognized as one of the country’s most highly regarded vocal ensembles. A champion of contemporary music, Willer has collaborated with composers from the U.S. and abroad, leading Lorelei and other ensembles under her leadership in numerous world, U.S. and regional premieres, including works by David Lang, Julia Wolfe, George Benjamin, Kati Agócs, Lisa Bielawa, Kareem Roustom, Jessica Meyer, Sungji Hong, Reiko Yamada, Peter Gilbert, Scott Ordway, and John Supko. As a conductor and recognized leader of vocal ensembles, Willer has been invited to lead performances featuring The Bang on a Can All-Stars, Seraphic Fire, New York Baroque, Inc., and Roomful of Teeth, and has prepared ensembles for performances with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, Cantus, A Far Cry, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and Odyssey Opera.
Willer is Associate Professor and Director of Choral Studies at The Peabody Conservatory of The Johns Hopkins University, where she leads vocal ensembles and is designing the conservatory's new graduate degree in choral conducting. Previous work includes academic appointments at Bucknell University, Harvard University, and The Boston Conservatory, and preparations for conductors of the Boston Symphony, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and Odyssey Opera. A passionate educator and conductor of young artists, Willer has led ensembles at Boston University's Tanglewood Institute, The Walnut Hill School, New England Conservatory’s Preparatory School, and The Boston Arts Academy. A versatile and vibrant clinician, Willer also enjoys work as a guest conductor for student and professional ensembles alike.
Willer holds a DMA and MM from Boston University, B.A. from Luther College. Her teachers include Ann Howard Jones, Weston Noble, Jameson Marvin, and Mark Shapiro.
