Maria Keohane (born 13 May 1971) is a Swedish

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

who has performed at festivals in Europe and made many recordings, especially of sacred music.

Life and career

Keohane was born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

to a Swedish mother and an Irish father. She and her mother moved to

Smedjebacken Smedjebacken is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Smedjebacken Municipality, Dalarna County, Sweden, with 5,100 inhabitants in 2010. Geographically, the town Smedjebacken is situated by the lake Barken, with an area of , which in ...

in Sweden when she was five. She still resides there. She had many fiddlers in the family on her mother's side, and started playing the violin at the age of nine. She also sang in the local church children's choir. Keohane planned to become a veterinarian, and interned at Falu djursjukhus, where she was offered a job, but was encouraged to pursue a career in music. She studied at the , the

University of Gothenburg The University of Gothenburg () is a List of universities in Sweden, university in Sweden's second largest city, Gothenburg. Founded in 1891, the university is the third-oldest of the current List of universities in Sweden#Public universities, S ...

and the

Royal Danish Academy of Music The Royal Danish Academy of Music, or Royal Danish Conservatory of Music (), in Copenhagen is the oldest professional institution of musical education in Denmark as well as the largest, with approximately 400 students. It was established in 186 ...

in Copenhagen. In 1998 and 1999, she performed with the Texas Bach Choir and baroque trumpet virtuoso Niklas Eklund as a guest artist. She won a prize at the international van Wassenaer competition in 2000 and has received a number of scholarships from the

Royal Swedish Academy of Music The Royal Swedish Academy of Music (), founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in ...

. In 2009 and 2010, she performed with the

European Union Baroque Orchestra The European Union Baroque Orchestra (EUBO) is a training initiative that allows young performers of baroque music from the European Union to gain orchestral experience as part of their career development. Its purpose is to bridge the gap between ...

. Reviewer Lindsay Kemp from

Gramophone A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration waveforms are recorded as corresponding physic ...

noted about a collection of Baroque arias: "Keohane shows sparkling virtuosity in Jauchzet Gott, but also affecting vulnerability in Ferrandini's poignant Il pianto di Maria". In 2012, she performed with the RTE Vanbrugh String Quartet. Since 2013, she has recorded 24 works, mostly cantatas, in the

Netherlands Bach Society The Netherlands Bach Society () is the oldest ensemble for Baroque music in the Netherlands, and possibly in the world. The ensemble was founded in 1921 in Naarden to perform Bach's ''St Matthew Passion'' on Good Friday and has performed the work ...

's "All of Bach" project. In 2014, she received the

Jussi Björling Johan Jonatan "Jussi" Björling ( , ; 5 February 19119 September 1960) was a Swedish tenor. One of the leading operatic singers of the 20th century, Björling appeared for many years at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and less frequentl ...

scholarship. In 2016, she performed at the Festival Musikdorf Ernen. Keohane teaches at the Falun Conservatory.

Discography

Magnificat The Magnificat (Latin for "y soulmagnifies he Lord) is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary or Canticle of Mary, and in the Byzantine Rite as the Ode of the Theotokos (). Its Western name derives from the incipit of its Latin text. This ...

, Johann Sebastian Bach / Maria Keohane, Anna Zander, Carlos Mena, Hans Jörg Mammel,

Stephan MacLeod Stephan MacLeod is a Swiss bass and conductor focused on Baroque music in historically informed performance who has performed internationally. He was first bass of the Huelgas Ensemble for five years and took part in the complete recording of B ...

, Francis Jacob,

Ricercar Consort The Ricercar Consort is a Belgian instrumental ensemble founded in 1980 together with the Ricercar record label of Jérôme Lejeune. The founding members were violinist François Fernandez, organist Bernard Foccroulle, and viola da gamba pla ...

Philippe Pierlot Philippe Pierlot (born 1958) is a Belgian viola da gamba player and a conductor in historically informed performance. He is also an academic teacher at the royal conservatories of The Hague and Brussels. Career Born in Liège, Pierlot learned t ...

, Mirare 2009 * '' Passion Selon Saint Jean'', BWV 245, Bach – Maria Keohane, Carlos Mena, Hans Jörg Mammel, Ricercar Consort, Jan Kobow, Matthias Vieweg, Stephan MacLeod, Ricercar Consort, Philippe Pierlot, Mirare-MIR 136 2011 * Handel: Cantatas, Arias, Orchestral Pieces – Maria Keohane, European Union Baroque Orchestra /

Lars Ulrik Mortensen Lars Ulrik Mortensen (born 9 November 1955) is a Danish harpsichordist and conductor, mainly of Baroque solo music, chamber music and early music repertory. He was a professor in Munich in 1996–99 and has since then been artistic director of ...

, ERP 6212–79 minutes * Handel: ''L'Allegro, il Peneroso ed il Moderato'' – Peter Neumann, cond; Maria Keohane, Julia Doyle, Benjamin Hulett, Andreas Wolf, Kölner Kammerchor, Collegium Cartusianum (period instruments),

Carus Marcus Aurelius Carus ( – July or August 283) was Roman emperor from 282 to 283. During his short reign, Carus fought the Germanic tribes and Sarmatians along the Danube frontier with success. He died while campaigning against the Sassanid ...

83.395 (2 CDs: 119:18) * Beethoven: Mass in C; Cherubini: ''Sciant Gentes'' – Maria Keohane, Margot Oitzinger, Thomas Hobbs, Sebastian Noack, Kammerchor Stuttgart & Hofkapelle /

Frieder Bernius Frieder Bernius (born 22 June 1947) is a German conductor, the founder and director of the chamber choir Kammerchor Stuttgart, founded in 1968. They became leaders for historically informed performances. He founded the Stuttgart festival of Baroq ...

, Carus 83.295, 48 minute * Handel: ''Water Music'' – Maria Keohane,

, Lars Ulrik Mortensen (cond), ERP 6212, 2013 * ''Joy & Sorrow Unmasked: Arias and Orchestral works by Bach and Handel'' – Maria Keohane,

, Lars Ulrik Mortensen (cond) * Mass In B minor, Bach – Maria Keohane, Joanne Lunn, Alex Potter, Jan Kobow, Peter Harvey, Concerto Copenhagen,

, 777-851 2015 * ''

Membra Jesu Nostri ''Membra Jesu nostri'', List of compositions by Dieterich Buxtehude, BuxWV 75, is a cycle of seven cantatas composed in 1680 by Dieterich Buxtehude and dedicated to Gustaf Düben. More specifically and fully it is, in Buxtehude's phrase, a ''“ ...

'', Dieterich Buxtehude – Maria Keohane, Hanna Bayodi-Hirt, Carlos Mena, Jeffrey Thompson, Matthias Vieweg, Ricercar Consort, Philippe Pierlot, 2018 * Bach: Cantatas 21 & 76, organ chorales – Bernard Foccroule (organ). Maria Keohane, Carlos Mena, Julian Pregardien, Matthias Vieweg, Collegium Vocale Gent; Ricercar Consort / Philippe Pierlot, Mirare 490, 83 minutes * ''Bach: Soli Deo Gloria'' – Philippe Pierlot (cond.), Maria Keohane, Carlos Mena, Julian Prégardien, Matthias Vieweg, Bernard Foccroulle, Mirare, 2021 * Beethoven: ''Irish Songs'', Maria Keohane, Ricercar Consort, Mirare 540, 57 minutes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Keohane, Maria 1971 births Living people Swedish operatic sopranos