Lauren Margison
Soprano
Recognized for her ability to communicate with an audience, soprano Lauren Margison is making her mark as a young artist of note. An alumna of the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio, she was a member of the prestigious Atelier lyrique de l'Opéra de Montréal, laureate of Jeune Ambassadrice Lyrique and she was the youngest finalist to appear in the prestigious and highly competitive Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg Vocal Competition. A finalist and prizewinner in the 2017 George London Foundation Awards, Lauren went on to take first prize in the 2018 competition. She appeared as Mimi in a special presentation of La Boheme with Artists of the COC Ensemble at The Four Seasons Centre, was featured in the COC’s Elektra and was scheduled for Micaela in Carmen for Pacific Opera Victoria, a production that was postponed due to the coronavirus. Also on her schedule were performances of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis for Chorus Niagara and his Symphony No. 9 for Orchestre symphonique de Québec.
The Ontarian was featured as Mïcaela in Carmen with the Brott Music Festival, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte with Highlands Opera Studio and appeared in concert with the PRISMA Festival in Strauss’s Four Last Songs. During her 2017-2018 season, Lauren returned to Atelier lyrique and appeared as Clorinda in La Cenerentola with l'Opéra de Montréal and Missia in the Atelier lyrique’s production of La Veuve joyeuse. Lauren has also appeared as a soloist in Hommage à Reynaldo Hahn with the Société d’art vocal de Montréal, in the new opera Mishaabooz’s Realm with the Highlands Opera Studio and Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal, and in Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis and Mozart’s Requiem with Vox Luminosa and Choeur de Laval.
A versatile soprano, she has performed extensively both in Canada and internationally, specializing in classical, jazz and pop repertoire. Some highlights include performances for Opera Ontario, the TD Toronto Jazz Festival, The Beaches Jazz Festival, the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, the Cincinnati Pops, Hannaford Street Silver Band, the noon hour concerts at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts – Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Ottawa Choral Festival Gala, and the Venetian Ball under the baton of Marco Armiliato, (fundraiser for Villa Charities, Toronto) held on the main stage of the Four Seasons’ Centre for the Performing Arts.
She was chosen as one of four singers to perform the music of Gordon Lightfoot for Gordon Lightfoot at the Lifetime Achievement Heart and Vision Awards and was a featured soloist on the City TV Christmas Carol Sing aired across Canada. She has shared the stage with such distinguished artists as Gordon Lightfoot, Rufus Wainwright, Russell Braun, Isabel Bayrakdarian, Measha Brueggergosman, Nicole Cabell, Louise Pitre, Sheila McCarthy, The Tenors, Jackie Richardson, Rex Harrington, Elaine Overholt, and her father, Richard Margison.
Lauren has appeared as a guest artist with Argentinian tenor, Jose Cura, at the Pavilhao Atlantico in Lisbon, Portugal, performing before an audience of 8,000 and a pan-European television audience. She has also been part of the 4-member female vocal group, ‘The Real Divas’ and their CD, Café Society, is currently in release. After a successful tour of British Columbia and appearing as guest performers on the CBCTV broadcast of the National Jazz Awards, the young women appeared in concerts across the country.
She attended the prestigious Castleton Festival in Castleton, Virginia, the brainchild of the late Lorin Maazel, as one of the youngest participants in the vocal division. Lauren performs across Canada with her father, Richard Margison, in their vocal duo, ‘Back to Back’, and continues to hone her vocal art under the tutelage of Margison and Valerie Kuinka.