Ottawa New Music Creators

Membership

Sarah Albu

Sarah Albu is a dynamic and versatile vocalist specializing in the creation, development and performance of contemporary work at the intersection of music and theatre. 

Active on the Montreal scene, Sarah is a frequent collaborator with composers, musicians and multidisciplinary artists across genres. Her self-produced solo album, trickpony, was released independently in May 2013 and features the work of eight emerging and established Canadian composers. The project included a year-long period of research exploring the creation and development of new solo vocal works. 

Highlights of the 2013-2014 season included the inaugural performances of her six voice ensemble ina, a theatrically-staged recital of solo and duo works with the soprano Annie Jacques in Montreal's Festival Bel Canto, two performances of Sandeep Bhagwati's Nirgun Bhajan with flute and percussion, and the title role in Sir Peter Maxwell Davies comic mono-opera Miss Donnithorne's Maggot with Montreal's acclaimed Ensemble Paramirabo. In 2012 was invited to the Banff Centre for the Arts as one of three singers to participate in a special centennial performance of Arnold Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire under the direction of Marianne Pousseur and Henk Guittart. Among her major projects upcoming in 2015 is a chamber opera in twelve parts based on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, in collaboration with guitarist Marc-Olivier Lamontagne, video artist Julien Robert and Bradyworks’ Emerging Artist series and two roles in Miss Fortune's Portmanteau, an inter-arts opera project presented by Vocalypse productions (Halifax).

Sarah studied voice, theatre and performance art at Concordia University and the University of Manitoba's Contemporary Opera Lab and has participated in training and workshops with artists such as Meredith Monk, Marianne Pousseur and Georgian polyphonic singing specialist Carl Linich. She continues to refine her skills under the mentorship of Halifax soprano Janice Jackson. 

She has been invited to perform at festivals including the Banff Centre for the Arts, the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, Vocalypse Productions (Halifax), Cluster New Music and Integrated Arts Festival (Winnipeg), the Québec International Sacred Music Festival, the Montreal Bach Festival, Festival Phénomena, Montréal Nouvelles Musiques, Innovations en Concert, Pop Montreal, Montreal Digital Arts Biennial and Suoni per il Popolo. 

Her musical activities and research in voice and theatrical/extended techniques have been supported by grants and awards from Jeunes Volontaires, the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec and the Canada Council for the Arts.

Curtis Perry