Ensemble LPR official site | Ensemble LPR on Twitter | Ensemble LPR on Facebook

Named after and headquartered at the acclaimed New York City venue Le Poisson Rouge, Ensemble LPR is an assemblage of New York’s finest musicians. The group personifies the venue’s commitment to aesthetic diversity and artistic excellence.

Ensemble LPR performs an eclectic spectrum of music—from works by the finest living composers, to compelling interpretations of the standard repertoire—and collaborates with distinguished artists from classical and non-classical backgrounds: Timo Andres, Simone Dinnerstein, San Fermin, Daniel Hope, Taka Kigawa, Jennifer Koh, Mica Levi, David Longstreth (of Dirty Projectors), John Lurie, Ursula Oppens, Max Richter, André de Ridder, Christopher Rountree and Fred Sherry, to name a few.

In January 2015 Ensemble LPR made its Deutsche Grammophon debut with Follow, Poet, featuring the music of Mohammed Fairouz and the words of Seamus Heaney and John F. Kennedy. Ensemble LPR’s acclaimed Central Park performance last June, part of the 110th Anniversary of the Naumburg Orchestral Concerts.

In 2008 Le Poisson Rouge changed the classical music landscape, creating a new environment in which to experience art music. In doing so, Le Poisson Rouge expanded classical music listenership. The New York Times has heralded Le Poisson Rouge as “[a] forward-thinking venue that seeks to showcase disparate musical styles under one roof” and “[the] coolest place to hear contemporary music.” The Los Angeles Times raves, “[The] place isn’t merely cool…the venue is a downright musical marvel.” Le Poisson Rouge Co-Founder David Handler brings this same ethos to Ensemble LPR, of which he is Founding Executive & Artistic Director.

NAOMI O’CONNELL (mezzo-soprano) made her German debut at Oper Frankfurt last season in the title role of Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea, hailed as “vocally commanding, worth a sin anytime” (Offenbach-Post). She also debuted with Atlanta Opera as Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, and participated in the workshop for Jake Heggie’s new opera, Great Scott, as Arden Scott in New York City. In the 2013 – 2014 season, Ms. O’Connell returned to Garsington Opera in Offenbach’s Vert Vert in the role of the “coloratura to the gills” opera diva, La Corilla, where critics described her performance as “inescapably, the big hit of this production” (The Arts Desk). Earlier in the season, Ms. O’Connell made her American theatre debut to great critical acclaim with the McCarter Theatre in Princeton as Rosine in The Figaro Plays of Beaumarchais, directed by Stephen Wadsworth. Highlights of her 2012-13 season included her “spectacular” (The Times, London) West End debut as Sharon Graham in Terrence McNally’s play, Master Class, opposite Tyne Daly as Maria Callas, Despina in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, conducted by Alan Gilbert and co-produced by the Juilliard Opera Theatre and the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Program in fall 2012, and in spring 2013, she appeared in New York City Opera’s new production of Offenbach’s La Périchole, directed by Christopher Alden. Hailed by the New York Times as “a natural in the recital format” for her Carnegie Hall debut performance of “Witches, Bitches & Women in Britches” at Weill Recital Hall presented by CAG in 2013, Ms. O’Connell divides her time between the recital platform, the theatre and opera stages. Upcoming performances include her debut cabaret show “FRAU” at the Neue Galerie in New York City this November 12th, and the roles of Cherubino and Serafin with Welsh National Opera in the spring of 2016.
 
Naomi O’Connell official site

Hailed by The New York Times as “a versatile, charismatic soprano endowed with brilliant technique and superlative stage instincts…indispensable to New York’s new-music ecosystem” MELLISSA HUGHES enjoys a busy international career in both contemporary and early music. A dedicated interpreter of living composers, Hughes has worked closely with Julia Wolfe, Michael Gordon, David Lang, Steve Reich, Neil Rolnick, and has premiered works by David T. Little, Missy Mazzoli, Ted Hearne, Caleb Burhans, Christopher Cerrone, Jacob Cooper, and Frederick Rzewski, among others. In the classical concert hall she has performed Mozart’s Vespers and Requiem under the baton of Sir Neville Marriner, Handel’s Dixit Dominus with Sir David Willcocks, and the role of Dido under the direction of Andrew Lawrence King. Equally at home in front of a rock band, Hughes has received widespread acclaim in her role as lead vocalist of Newspeak, an amplified alt-classical band, and for her work with Missy Mazzoli’s Victoire. Based in Brooklyn, Mellissa Hughes holds degrees from Westminster Choir College and Yale University.
 
Mellissa Hughes official site

Composer Ricardo Romaneiro was born and raised in Sao Paulo, Brazil and moved to the U.S. at an early age. Ricardo earned a Master degree in composition from The Juilliard School studying with Christopher Rouse, and a Bachelor degree in composition from Manhattan School of Music studying with Richard Danielpour. Ricardo’s music synthesizes his major musical influences & passions: classical & electronic music, and the percussive rhythm/beat of his native country Brazil. The New York Times described his work (Strata) as “a blissful and compelling mix of Minimalist-derived rhythmic ecstasy and nightclub beats”. His music has been commissioned and performed by ensembles and institutions such as The Museum of Modern Art’s Summergarden Series, Metropolis Ensemble, Wordless Music, Celebrate Brooklyn! summer concerts, Ensemble LPR, Nu Deco Ensemble, the Alvin Ailey Dance Company, New Juilliard Ensemble, ACO Underwood Readings, Quintet of the Americas, the Colorado Ballet at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, and the Sacramento Ballet. Ricardo Romaneiro is endorsed by Sibelius (Avid) and has served on Avid’s Customer Advisory board for Pro-Tools and Sibelius integration and development.