About — Elise Groves, soprano

Elise Groves, soprano, is a dedicated and versatile soloist and chamber musician. Her repertoire ranges from Medieval chant to new compositions, with a special focus on one-per-part performance.

Solo highlights include Brahms’ Liebeslieder Waltzer (Monadnock Chorus), Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass (Church of the Advent), Mozart's Requiem and Coronation Mass (Church of the Advent), Bach's Coffee Cantata (The Bach Project), St. John Passion (Ensemble Musica Humana, Schola Cantorum of Boston), and St. Matthew Passion (Brown University), and fully-staged versions of Schütz's Weihnachtshistorie (Musica Nuova/The Weckmann Project) and Hildegard's Ordo Virtutum (Ensemble Musica Humana, Cantoris), as well as Handel’s Messiah (various) and Scarlatti’s Stabat Mater (Handel and Haydn Society, Marsh Chapel).

As a chamber musician, Elise was featured in a program of Byrd’s consort songs (Sonnambula), selections from Dowland’s “A Pilgrim’s Solace” (Long & Away, a consort of viols), and is a frequent guest musician with Seven Times Salt - a broken consort presenting repertoire of the 16th and 17th centuries. Elise co-founded Tramontana, a solo-voice ensemble, to focus on madrigals, part songs, and other vocal repertoire intended for chamber performances, and made her European debut with The Tallis Scholars in 2018. As a professional chorister, she has appeared with the Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Baroque, Vox Vocal Ensemble, Spire Chamber Ensemble, True Concord Voices & Orchestra, and was a core member and frequent soloist with the all-professional Choir of the Church of the Advent in Beacon Hill for twelve seasons.

In addition to her work as a performer, Elise served as the Operations Manager for The Bach Project - an ensemble she founded with Andrew Sheranian to explore the music of J.S. Bach and present concerts in Dorchester and the greater Boston area. Elise was also previously the Music Administrator for the Church of the Advent, the Production Coordinator for Early Music America's Young Performer's Festival at the Boston Early Music Festival, and Orchestra Librarian/Manage for the Corvallis-OSU Symphony Orchestra.

Elise is also developing a reputation for her performing editions of Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque repertoire and enjoys discovering each composer’s unique style and idiosyncrasies. Before moving to Boston, she taught choir for grades 6-8 at a public middle school in the Portland, Oregon metro area. Though no longer in the classroom full-time, Elise is passionate about arts education and advocacy.

A native Oregonian, she received a B.A. in Music and M.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies (Music Education) from Oregon State University and an M.M. in Early Music Performance from the Longy School of Music. When Elise isn't singing, you can find her spending time with her husband and young son, organizing all the details for the next project, doing various things with yarn, and continuing her lifelong search for the perfect cup of hot chocolate.

Short Form

Elise Groves, soprano, is a dedicated and versatile soloist and chamber musician. Her repertoire ranges from Medieval to new compositions, with a special focus on one-per-part performance. Solo highlights include Brahms’ Liebeslieder Waltzer; Bach's Coffee Cantata, St. John Passion, and St. Matthew Passion; Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass; Mozart's Requiem and Coronation Mass; and Scarlatti’s Stabat Mater, as well as staged versions of Schütz's Christmas Story and Hildegard's Ordo Virtutum. As a professional chorister, she has appeared with The Tallis Scholars, Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Baroque, Vox Vocal Ensemble, Spire Chamber Ensemble, and True Concord Voices & Orchestra, among many others. Elise received a B.A. in Music and an M.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies (Music Education) from Oregon State University and an M.M. in Early Music Performance from the Longy School of Music. When Elise isn't singing, you can find her spending time with her husband and young son, doing various things with yarn, and continuing her lifelong search for the perfect cup of hot chocolate.

For program/publicity purposes, a downloadable headshot, bio, and résumé can be found here.