Jolle Greenleaf (Soprano)

Born: New York City, New York, USA

The American soprano, Jolle Greenleaf, received a Bachelor of Arts in voice and music history from the University of California at Santa Barbara, a Bachelor of Music in voice from Clayton State College in Morrow, Georgia, and a Master of Music in historical performance from Mannes College of Music in New York. She enrolled as a guest student at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, the Netherlands upon receiving a fellowship from the Beebe Fund for Musicians to study abroad. She studied with Lorraine Manz, Lois Bove, Myron McPherson, Drew Minter, Suzie LeBlanc, and other teachers and coaches specializing in early music.

Jolle Greenleaf is one of today’s foremost figures in the field of early music. Balancing a career as a leading soloist and an innovative impressaria, she is in great demand both as a guest artist and as the artistic director of TENET Vocal Artists, a premiere New York City-based ensemble specializing in early music.

Jolle Greenleaf has been hailed by The New York Times as a “golden soprano” and “a major force in the New York early music-scene.” She is a celebrated interpreter of the music of J.S. Bach, Dietrich Buxtehude, George Frideric Handel, Purcell and, most notably, Claudio Monteverdi. Her “crisp, sensuous voice” (The New Yorker) has been praised for its “purity and beguiling naturalness” (The Oregonian) and “intriguing beauty” (The Boston Globe). She has performed as a soloist in venues throughout the USA, Scandinavia, Europe, and Central America for exceptional presenters including Vancouver Early Music Festival, Denmark’s Vendsyssel Festival, Costa Rica International Music Festival, Puerto Rico’s Festival Casals, Utrecht Festival, at Panama’s National Theater, and San Cristobal, the Cathedral in Havana, Cuba.

“A treasured staple in New York,” Jolle Greenleaf was named the artistic director of TENET Vocal Artists in 2009, where she sings and directs the ensemble in repertoire spanning the Middle Ages to the present day. Her flair for imaginative programming has been lauded by The New York Times as “adventurous and expressive,” as well as “smart, varied and not entirely early.” She spearheaded TENET’s Green Mountain Project, whose annual performances of Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 have been universally acclaimed. She appears with TENET Vocal Artists at distinguished New York City venues including Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York’s Society for Ethical Culture, Columbia University’s Italian Academy, and St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, among many. She appeared with TENET Vocal Artists at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall in 2014, in a performance of Arvo Pärt’s Passio. She passionately fosters the spirit of collaboration and shared ideas. She regularly invites international musicians to join forces to perform with her and others from the New York-based early music community. She currently lives in New York City.

Solo Bach Performances

These are the occasions with J.S. Bach's works, for which Jolle Greenleaf was a soloist:
Jeannette Sorrell / Apollo's Fire: Christmas Oratorio BWV 248 (Dec 2003)
Jeannette Sorrell / Apollo's Fire: Easter Oratorio BWV 249 (Apr 2005)
Jeannette Sorrell / Apollo's Fire: St. John Passion BWV 245 (Mar 2007)
Ton Koopman / Carnegie Hall: Cantata BWV 198 (Sep 2005)
John Scott / Saint Thomas Choir of Men & Boys: Cantatas BWV 106 and BWV 198 (May 2006)
Don Teeters / Boston Cecilia: St. Matthew Passion BWV 244 (Nov 2011)
Julian Wachner: Choir of Trinity Wall Street & Trinity Baroque Orchestra, Wall Street: St. Matthew Passion BWV 244 (Apr 2011)
Julian Wachner: Choir of Trinity Wall Street & Trinity Baroque Orchestra, Wall Street: St. John Passion BWV 245 (Apr 2012)
Helmuth Rilling / San Jose Symphony (Festival Casals): St. Matthew Passion BWV 244 (Mar 2015
Cantatas with Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity: BWV 4, BWV 9, BWV 11, BWV 12, BWV 23, BWV 31, BWV 38, BWV 51, BWV 55, BWV 61, BWV 63, BWV 75, BWV 76, BWV 78, BWV 79, BWV 80, BWV 82a, BWV 84, BWV 98, BWV 106, BWV 118, BWV 150, BWV 151, BWV 155, BWV 157, BWV 159, BWV 182, BWV 204
Donald Meineke / Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity: Cantatas as soloist: BWV 70, Magnificat BWV 243, BWV 199, BWV 127, BWV 4, BWV 62 (2016-2018)
Kenneth Slowik / Washington Bach Consort: St. Matthew Passion BWV 244 (2017)
Brett Karlin / Master Chorale of South Florida: B Minor Mass BWV 232 (2016)
TENET performed St. John Passion BWV 245 in collaboration with The Sebastians (2016), unconducted
TENET performed St. Matthew Passion BWV 244, again with The Sebastians, unconducted (Mar 2019)

More Photos

Source: TENET Website; Jolle Greenleaf profile on Facebook; Photos 09, 11, 14, 15: Becky Oehlers Photography; Photo 16: Paris Mancini; Photo 18: Jiyang Chen Photography; The Artist (July 2018, July 2020)
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (June 2018); Jolle Greenleaf (July 2018, July 2020)

Jolle Greenleaf: Short Biography | Ensembles: TENET Vocal Artists
Bach Discography: Recordings of Vocal Works

Recordings of Bach Cantatas & Other Vocal Works

Conductor

As

Works

Rick Erickson

Soprano

Member of The Holy Trinity Bach Choir:
[C-1] (1999): Selections from BWV 79, BWV 147, BWV 245, BWV 61, BWV 140, BWV 243a, BWV 1, BWV 22, BWV 227, BWV 75, BWV 437, BWV 129, BWV 232, BWV 4, BWV 118 [All sung in English]

Jeffrey Grossman

Soprano

With Impromptu Bach Ensemble:
[V-2] (Video, 2017): BWV 232 [solo]

Donald Meineke

Soprano

Member of Bach Choir of Holy Trinity:
[C-1] (2014, Video): BWV 115 [solo]
[C-2] (2018, Video): BWV 71

Franz Welser-Möst

Soprano

Member of Seraphic Fire (Director: Patrick Dupré Quigley):
[CR-34] (2017, Audio): BWV 34

Links to other Sites

Jolle Greenleaf (Official Website)
TENET: Jolle Greenleaf
TENET: Artistic Director
Jolle Greenleaf on Facebook