RETURN

Duo Rosa emerged thanks to a wonderful friendship and meeting of musical minds between soprano Stephany Ortega and pianist Léna Kollmeier when they were studying at Brussels Royal Conservatory. Thanks to their comprehensive training in classical and modern music, they are able to approach traditional repertoire with ease, while tackling the challenges of contemporary music and exploring several world music styles. The duo has performed in public on several occasions in Belgium, Luxembourg and Spain. In 2015 they had the opportunity to work together with renowned composer Wolfgang Rihm and performed several of his works at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels with great success. After launching their CD at the Philharmonie Luxembourg in November 2016, the duo will embark on a promotional tour across Europe, the US and the Dominican Republic, including appearances at Carnegie Hall, La Monnaie in Brussels, and the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Santo Domingo.

For its first album, Duo Rosa has chosen to retrace soprano Stephany Ortega’s life journey in a series of songs. Ten years have now passed since Stephany left her home country, the Dominican Republic, and relocated in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in order to pursue her studies in voice, piano and choir conducting.

Duo Rosa has thus set that journey to music. In this imaginary itinerary, however, we start off in Luxembourg and embark on a voyage that ends up in the Dominican Republic, as if Stephany was returning to her roots. The resulting musical promenade begins with a work by Luxembourg composer Camille Kerger, commissioned for this CD. The piece entitled There and Back (Aller-retour) is a setting of a text by Jean Portante, blending colors that evoke a series of musical influences, from the most ancient to the most current ones.