Lionheart Vocal Ensemble is Jeffrey Johnson, Lawrence Lipnik, John Olund, Richard Porterfield, Kurt-Owen Richards, and Michael Wenger.
Lionheart gives voice to medieval, Renaissance, and new-music repertoires in concert, on radio, and in recordings. Touring extensively throughout the U.S. and Europe, Lionheart has collaborated with other performers including Anonymous 4, and premiered new works by composers Julia Wolfe and Marc-André Dalbavie. 2009 saw the release on the Cantaloupe label of composer Phil Kline’s John the Revelator commissioned by WNYC Radio for Lionheart with the string quartet ETHEL. In December 2009 Lionheart continued its tradition of New York holiday concerts at the Metropolitan Museum and at The Cloisters in New York City.
For its most recent recording on Koch International Classics, El Siglo de Oro, Lionheart was hailed by Early Music America for their “rich, true tones and flawlessly blended harmonies… their superb articulation and impeccable sense of rhythm.” The ensemble’s CD of the music of Palestrina and his contemporaries and its CD, Tydings Trew, also garnered much critical praise and were released by Koch International Classics.
In 1998 the six men of Lionheart began a collaboration with Anonymous 4, joining forces to explore rare and ravishing repertoire. They did two national tours together, the last being in the 2001–02 season. In December 2000 Lionheart furthered its commitment to presenting the work of living composers by premiering a new piece by composer Julia Wolfe as part of the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Next Wave Festival. In the spring of 2003 it gave the world premiere of a new work composed for it and members of the Orchestre de Paris by composerMarc-André Dalbavie. The performance, which took place at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, was part of the Sounds French Festival. The ensemble gave the French premiere at the Présence Festival in Paris in February 2005. Other European engagements have included the festivals Musikpodium in Stuttgart, Tage Alter Musik in Regensburg, and the Covent Garden Festival in London.
