Mezzo-soprano Elisa Sutherland gives detailed, stylistic performances of early and new music with “soul-infused expressiveness and unselfconscious joie de vivre” (New York Music Daily). She is a core member of Ekmeles, a sextet dedicated to exploring microtonal tuning and extended vocal techniques, as well as Alkemie, an ensemble made up of medieval specialists that celebrates the vibrant and timeless sounds of the past and present. She is a member of the Choir of Trinity Wall Street and frequently appears with Tenet, with which she has performed everything from Dowland lute songs to semi-staged pastiches of her own devising. Her 2025-26 season includes an astonishing range of high-level music-making with collaborators across the country in all genres including Quince, The Crossing, Lorelei, Seraphic Fire, Windsync, AMOC, and Blue Heron.
She has appeared in art song recitals with the Brooklyn Art Song Society (BASS) and Philadelphia’s Lyricfest, as well as with Roomful of Teeth and Bach Akademie Charlotte. Through her work as a soloist and choral musician, Ms. Sutherland has workshopped and premiered new compositions by composers Ted Hearne, Julia Wolfe, Erin Gee, Michael Gordon, Christopher Trapani, David Lang, Zosha Di Castri, Shawn Jaeger, John Luther Adams, Hannah Kendall, Caroline Shaw, Yaz Lancaster, Michael Gilbertson, Gavin Bryars, Joanne Metcalf, Kile Smith, Pablo Chin, L J White, and many more. In the world of early music, she has explored repertoire ranging from the medieval to the Baroque periods with ensembles Quicksilver Baroque, Parthenia Viol Consort, Piffaro, Filament, and Elm City Consort.
Ms. Sutherland has been featured as a soloist with Apollo’s Fire, Baroque Music Montana, Brooklyn Art Song Society, Lyricfest, Contemporaneous, Arcana New Music Ensemble, American Bach Soloists, and Apollo Chorus of Chicago. She has sung for over 30 commercial recordings, including four Grammy-winning and 12 Grammy-nominated albums.