About Luthien
Born in San Diego, California to parents who loved to read, Luthien was named for the character of the elf princess Lùthien Tinùviel in J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium. According to her mother and father, at the age of two, she clambered up onto the table during a dinner party and sang "You Light Up My Life" from start to finish with perfect pitch. That was probably her first public performance.
Praised by the press for her “lushness and delicacy,” “easy, appealing alto” and “silky tone among all registers,” Luthien is in great demand as a concert soloist and professional chorister. She received her undergraduate training at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, where she was a member of the Westminster Choir and sang under the batons of some of the world's most respected conductors, including Wolfgang Sawallisch and Kurt Masur. After completing her Bachelors degree, she entered the professional arena, and spent many years building a distinguished career, with performing engagements across the U.S. and abroad. She currently resides in the UK, where she has recently completed her post-graduate studies at the University of York.
Click here for an up-to-date schedule of all of Luthien's upcoming performances.
Notable Recent Solo Engagements
Vivaldi: Gloria
York Early Music Festival Come-and-Sing
York, United Kingdom
J.S. Bach: St. Matthew Passion
Yorkshire Bach Soloists
York, United Kingdom
Rossini: Petite Messe Solenelle
East Riding County Choir
Beverley, United Kingdom
Brahms: Love Song Waltzes
Mark Morris Dance Group
Mostly Mozart Festival, Lincoln Center, New York, USA
Bach: Mass in B Minor
Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity, New York, USA
Handel: Messiah
Choir of Trinity Wall Street and Trinity Baroque Orchestra, New York, USA
J.S. Bach: Christmas Oratorio
Sinfonia da Camera, Illinois, USA
Purcell: Dido and Aeneas (Sorceress)
Pegasus Early Music, New York, USA
Beethoven: Ninth Symphony
Johnstown Symphony Orchestra, Pennsylvania, USA
JS Bach: St. Matthew Passion
Washington Bach Consort, Washington, DC, USA
Steinberg: Passion Week
The Clarion Society
Grand Philharmonic Hall, St. Petersburg, Russia
Photograph © Elizabeth Smith
Awards and Recognition
2019 GRAMMY nomination: Best Choral Performance
Alexander Kastalsky: Memory Eternal (Naxos)
The Clarion Society, Steven Fox, conductor
2017 BBC Music Magazine Award nomination
Maximilian Steinberg: Passion Week (Naxos)
The Clarion Society, Steven Fox, conductor
2017 GRAMMY nomination: Best Choral Performance
Maximilian Steinberg: Passion Week (Naxos)
The Clarion Society, Steven Fox, conductor
Winner, 2016 Diapason Découverte
Maximilian Steinberg: Passion Week (Naxos)
The Clarion Society, Steven Fox, conductor
2015 GRAMMY nomination:
Best Contemporary Classical Composition
Julia Wolfe: Anthracite Fields (Cantaloupe)
The Bang on a Can All-Stars and
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street, Julian Wachner, conductor
2013 GRAMMY nomination: Best Choral Performance
GF Handel: Israel in Egypt (Musica Omnia)
Choir of Trinity Wall Street and Trinity Baroque Orchestra,
Julian Wachner, conductor
First Prize, 2008 Tolosa International Choral Competition
The Antioch Chamber Ensemble
Ensemble Affiliations
Luthien appears regularly with the following ensembles:
The Antioch Chamber Ensemble (Founding member)
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street
The Choir of York Minster Cathedral
The Clarion Society
Seraphic Fire
Spire Chamber Ensemble
Stile Antico
TENET Vocal Artists
Yorkshire Bach Choir & Yorkshire Baroque Soloists