Christmas Oratorio

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750):
Christmas Oratorio BVW 248 (1734)
Cantatas 1–3

Tomas Djupsjöbacka, conductor

Conductor Tomas Djupsjöbacka is known as a versatile musician who also performs actively as a cellist. His background lies in chamber music — he is a founding member of the string quartet Meta4 and performs regularly with the renowned Chamber Orchestra of Europe.

Djupsjöbacka made his conducting debut with the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra in 2013 and has since conducted nearly all major Finnish orchestras, including the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Oulu Symphony Orchestra, Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, and Lahti Symphony Orchestra. At the musicians’ initiative, Djupsjöbacka was invited to become Principal Guest Conductor of the Lapland Chamber Orchestra, a position he held from autumn 2019 until spring 2022. He began his tenure as Chief Conductor of the Vaasa City Orchestra in January 2021.

In addition to the classical repertoire, Djupsjöbacka has in recent years premiered numerous works by composers such as Jukka Tiensuu, Veli Kujala, Sampo Haapamäki, and Mikko Heiniö, and has collaborated in concerts with jugglers, dancers, and a foley artist. In October 2020, Djupsjöbacka appeared at the Lahti Sibelius Festival with the Finnish Baroque Orchestra, performing Sibelius’s music on period instruments.

Djupsjöbacka began his conducting studies in 2012 under Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Chief Conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in New York. He continued his studies at the Sibelius Academy’s conducting class, from which he graduated in 2017. Djupsjöbacka has also participated in masterclasses with Jorma Panula.

Kathrin Lorenzen, soprano

Soprano Kathrin Lorenzen was born in Flensburg in 1994 and grew up on a farm owned by her family in fifth generation. She began church music studies at HMT Leipzig and sang in a wide variety of choirs and ensembles, including the German National Youth Choir, the Kammerchor Stuttgart and the World Youth Choir. During her studies, the desire to make singing her main instrument and career grew steadily. After further organ and vocal studies at HfM Saar (under Prof. Ruth Ziesak), she moved to Stockholm in 2021, after winning auditions for permanent employment and member of the Swedish Radio Choir. At the same time, she continued her master studies in singing at KMH Stockholm (under Prof. Bo Rosenkull).

In recent years, Kathrin established herself as a sought-after soloist and concert singer in Germany and Scandinavia. She has become particularly fond of art singing in all its forms and enjoys developing new concert concepts. She also has a strong passion for chamber music and a regular lied duo with the pianist Oskar Ekberg.

Kathrin is the recipient of several awards and scholarships (Nikolaus Reiser-Stiftung, Richard-Wagner-Verband, KMA-stipendiat etc. In 2023 she won 1st prize and the audience prize at the 12th International Telemann Competition in Magdeburg. Kathrin is the winner of Solistpriset 2024 (“The Soloist Prize”), the biggest prize awarded by the Swedish Royal Academy of Music for young musicians, being the first singer in 16 years to achieve that. In june 2024 she received 2nd prize and the honorary audience award at the Mirjam Helin International Voice Competition.

Jingjing Xu, alto

Jingjing Xu is a Chinese mezzo-soprano praised for her expressive artistry and wide-ranging repertoire. A native of Wuhu, she completed her master’s degree at McGill University in 2023, where she won the Wirth Vocal Prize. The following year, she won the 2024 Mirjam Helin Competition as the youngest participant.

Jingjing made her operatic debut in 2022 as the title role in Handel’s Orlando at McGill University. She has since appeared in oratorio and recital performances, including Rossini’s Petite messe solennelle, Duruflé’s Requiem, and Handel’s Messiah. She has performed with the Canadian Opera Company, Montreal’s Société d’Art Vocale, and at the Organ and Aria Festival in Finland. In February 2025, she sang with the Oulu Symphony Orchestra, and in summer 2025, she will make her debut at the Bregenz Festival, performing the title role in La Cenerentola.

Beyond opera and oratorio, Jingjing is recognized for her compelling interpretation of art song. She and her duo partner, Christopher Knopp, attended the Franz-Schubert-Institut in 2023, where they studied with Elly Ameling, Robert Holl, and Roger Vignoles.

Her primary mentors and voice instructors are Annamaria Popescu and Jie Zhou, and she works closely with coaches Michael McMahon and Esther Gonthier. She has also participated in masterclasses with James Vaughan, Graham Johnson, Jeff Cohen, Pierre Vallet, and Helmut Deutsch.

Juan de Dios Mateos, tenor

Born in Almería, he studied singing with Carlos Aransay and at the Opera Studio of the Paris National Opera. Standing out in the bel canto and Mozartian repertoire, he has performed in theatres such as the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Sydney Opera House, Teatro de la Zarzuela, Melbourne Opera, Teatro Municipal de Santiago de Chile, Shanghai Opera, Teatro Verdi di Trieste, Teatro Petruzelli, Teatro Verdi di Salerno, Teatro Massimo Bellini, Oslo Opera House, Teatro Campoamor, and Innsbruck Opera; and in festivals such as MÜPA, Luglio Musicale Trapanese, Festival di Vicenza, Festival di Spoleto, Mikkeli Festival, and FeMÀS

In operas like Il Barbiere di Siviglia, L’Elisir d’amore, La Cenerentola, Don Giovanni, Il Viaggio a Reims, Il Turco in Italia, La Cenerentola, L’Italiana in Algeri, Così fan tutte, Reigen, Owen Wingrave, Les Fêtes d’Hébè, Ariadne auf Naxos, and Acis and Galatea; in Spanish repertoire with El Poeta Calculista, La Dolores, La Araucana, or Luisa Fernanda; and in symphonic or oratorio repertoire with Messiah, Messa di Gloria & Stabat Mater by Rossini, Carmina Burana, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, etc.

Among his various awards are the Plácido Domingo Prize at the Tenor Viñas International Competition, the Second Prize at the Hariclea Darclée International Competition in Romania, and in 2021, seven prizes at the SOI International Competition. In 2023, he received the Audience Award at the Lousada International Competition.

Aksel Daveyan, bass

Aksel Daveyan’s upcoming and recent engagements include Marcello in La bohème at the Glyndebourne Festival.  Albert in Werther at the Opernhaus Zürich. Yamadori Madama Butterfly at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden and with the Berliner Philharmoniker. Giorgio Germont in La Traviata, Ottokar Der Freischütz, Figaro in Il Barbiere at Oldenburgisches Staatstheater.

Dr. Malatesta Don Pasquale, Stravinsky’s Les Noces, Il Maestro Viva la Mamma, Morales Carmen, Dumas Andrea Chénier at Opernhaus Zürich.

Past engagements include concerts and concertante opera appearances at the Georgian National Opera in Tbilisi, the Opera of Krakow, Theatre Logos in Lodz, Poland, the San Lazzaro island in Venice, the Opera and Ballet Theater of Yerevan, Teatro Politeama in Palermo, singing Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Conte in Le nozze di Figaro, Silvio in I Pagliacci, Alfonso in La Favorita, Pierrot in Korngold’s Die tote Stadt, Yeletsky in Pique Dame, the main role in Eugene Onegin, Robert in Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta, the Venetian Guest in Rimski-Korsakov’s Sadko, next to Mansurian’s Requiem in the National Centre of Chamber Music in Yerevan, Haladjian’s Missa de Lumine in the Thomaskirche in Frankfurt, Faure – Requiem and 7 Prayers in the Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall, Mansurian’s Hymnus Navapet at the Mendel Festival in Brno, Czech Republic.

Aksel Daveyan won the 1st prize at the Elena Obraztsova Competition in St. Petersburg and the 2nd prize at the Queen Sonja Competition.  He is also the 3rd Prize Winner of the Opera Crown Tbilisi Competition, 1st Prize Winner of the Pan-Armenian competition – Gohar Gasparyan, and the Boghossian Youth Prize 2020 (the Armenian President’s Prize).

Chamber Choir Canticum Maris

The chamber choir Canticum Maris operates within the Finnish Parish of Vaasa and was founded in 2020. The choir is conducted by Dir. Mus. Tarja Viitanen.

Despite its young age, Canticum Maris has proven to be a strong and capable choir. The ensemble has already participated in several radio and television broadcasts by Yle. An important part of Canticum Maris’ activities is the performance of major sacred works; for example, W.A. Mozart’s Requiem, J. Haydn’s oratorio Die Jahreszeiten, and G.F. Handel’s Messiah have been among its recent projects.

Performing large choral works and demanding a cappella repertoire quickly develops a skilled and versatile choir. Future plans include performing Handel’s Messiah at the Vaasa Awakening Festival in summer 2024 and Haydn’s oratorio The Creation together with the Vaasa City Orchestra, as well as participating in choir festivals in Finland and abroad.