Soloists' Biographies

Lena Susanne Norin

Mezzo soprano/contralto

After studying singing in Stockholm, Lena Susanne Norin specialized early music, training with René Jacobs and Dominique Vellard at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel, Switzerland. During these formative years she performed and recorded extensively with the Ferrara ensemble. Following her studies she taught voice at the Schola Cantorum from 1986 to 1990, and has since then continued to teach.

Lena Susanne Norin is much sought after as a concert and oratorio singer around Europe, performing a vast array of music written from 1100 to 1900. During over two decades she has worked and recorded extensively with numerous renowned European ensembles: Ferrara Ensemble, Ensemble Gilles Binchois (medieval and renaissance chant and chanson), Sequentia (since 1987), La Chapelle Royale, Akantus, Rheinische Kantorei, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Akademie für Alte Musik, Musica Antiqua Köln, Cantus Cölln. International tours have led her to Europe and the USA, Asia and South America.

Lena Susanne also performs Scandinavian traditional music with Ulv, a trio with Agnethe Christensen and Elizabeth Gaver. While she is most eminent in the field of early music, she is by no means a stranger to the romantic repertoire, having sung the part of Erda in the 2002 produktion of Wagner´s Das Rheingold at the Stockholm Folk Opera.

Upcoming Concerts

12 January 2025, 4:00 pm
Gregorius: The Holy Sinner
Music Before 1800
New York City, NY / USA 

17 January 2025, 7:30 pm
Gregorius: The Holy Sinner
Early Music Vancouver
Vancouver, BC / Canada

18 January 2025, 7:30 pm
Gregorius: The Holy Sinner
Early Music Society of the Islands
Victoria, BC / Canada

25 January 2025, 7:30 pm
Gregorius: The Holy Sinner
The Toronto Consort
Toronto, ON / Canada

30 January 2025, 7:30 pm
Gregorius: The Holy Sinner
Penn Live Arts
Philadelphia, PA / USA

6 & 7 February 2025
Beowulf: The Epic in Performance
Moss Arts Center
Blacksburg, VA / USA

14 February 2025
Kulturzentrum Peterskirche, Kempen
Musen der Sphären

See full concert schedule

News

Benjamin Bagby's teaching activities in 2019

In March 2019, Benjamin will give two weekend courses on the solo songs of Philippe le Chancelier (d. 1236). The courses are being hosted by the Centre de Musique Médiévale de Paris. Dates: 9-10 and 30-31 March.
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After retiring from his teaching position at the University of Paris - Sorbonne, where he taught between 2005 and 2018 in the professional masters program, Benjamin Bagby continues to travel widely in 2019 to teach practical workshops for young professionals:

Folkwang Universität der Künste (Essen-Werden, Germany).
Benjamin has joined the faculty of this renowned masters program for liturgical chant performance and medieval music. The dates of his courses in 2019: 5-7 April; 26-28 April; 17-19 May; 30 May–01 June.
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For the second year in a row, Benjamin will teach an intensive course in the 8th International Course on Medieval Music Performance (Besalú, Spain): Songs of the troubadours (for singers and instrumentalists).
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Amherst Early Music Festival (Connecticut College, New London CT) 21-28 July:
An intensive course on the solo cansos of the Occitan troubadours, with a focus on songs from the great Milan songbook Bibl. Ambr. R71 sup. (for singers and instrumentalists).
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