Josefien Stoppelenburg, Soprano
Dutch soprano Josefien Stoppelenburg is known for her dazzling vocal agility and her passionate, insightful interpretations.
She has appeared across the United States, Europe, Asia, United Arab Emirates, and South America as a specialist in Baroque and Classical repertoire, and has performed for the Dutch Royal Family on several occasions.
Josefien’s repertoire includes most major oratorio works by Handel, Haydn, Mozart and Bach, including all of the latter composer’s cantatas for solo soprano.
In the Netherlands, she has performed in the International Chamber Opera Festival, with orchestras such as Camerata Amsterdam, The Dutch Radio Philharmonisch Orkest, Noord Nederlands Orkest and frequently appeared in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. The chamber Ensemble Brothers and Sisters (vocal duo Charlotte and Josefien Stoppelenburg and piano duo Martijn and Stefan Blaak) recently performed live on Radio 4, the Dutch classical radio station for Classical Music. As a vocal duo, Charlotte and Josefien have performed in nearly every concert hall in The Netherlands.
An advocate for new music, Josefien has premiered numerous works written especially for her voice, and performed music by Jacob TV, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Stacy Garrop, Lita Grier, Eric Whitacre, Antonio Bibalo and William Neil, Willem Stoppelenburg and other Dutch composers.
In 2021, Josefien and cellist Jean Hatmaker recorded the CD Modern Muses: Contemporary treasures for soprano and cello” released on the Navona label. The album won a Bronze Medal in the Global Music Awards.
Concerts the 2022-23 season include performances with Ars Lyrica in Houston, the Newberry Consort at the Boston Early Music Festival, Baroque Music Festival Corona Del Mar, the Arizona Bach Festival, Camerata Chicago, St. Louis Bach Society, Bach Week Evanston, Rembrandt Chamber Musicians, and the Geelvinck Fortepiano Festival in Amsterdam.
Stoppelenburg’s appearance on Chicago’s classical radio program “Live from WFMT” was selected as one of the 10 best performances in 2016. She won the Chicago Oratorio Award, the National Princess Christina Competition (Netherlands) and second prize in The American Prize Opera Competition.
A dedicated vocal pedagogue, Josefien has given vocal masterclasses at Indiana University, Jacobs School of Music, University of Colorado, Illinois State University, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Boulder Bach Festival, Arizona Bach Festival and Conciertos de la Villa de Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.
Josefien is also a professional painter who completes numerous commissions annually. To stay posted about her music and art, please visit josefienstoppelenburg.com and josefienstoppelnburg-art.com.