Uranienborg Vokalensemble are renowned for their vigorous performances of music from different genres and periods. In their latest album SONG they embrace the whole spectrum, from the softly delicate to the massively unsettling. In words and music each track has a story to tell about man and his relationship with nature, his fellow man and to God. The listener is rewarded with an almost visceral experience of the unaccompanied human voice – breathing and pulsing, direct and unfiltered.
The compositions present nature in all its variation, sensitively evoking the different times of the day, both lyrically and musically: Marianne Reidarsdatter Eriksen, Geirr Tveitt, Håkon Berge, Sven Erik Bäck, Alfred Janson, Bo Holten, Torbjørn Dyrud, Harald Gullichsen, Jaakko Mäntyjärvi and Carl Nielsen.
Uranienborg Vocal Ensemble was founded in January 2002 and consists of 20-24 singers. Elisabeth Holte has been the ensemble's artistic director and conductor since its inception. Over the years the ensemble has performed numerous concerts of sacred and secular music from different periods. Variation in style and a strong emphasis on communication is a hallmark of their performances. In the words of a review in Norwegian Church Music after the choir's performance during Nordic Church Music Symposium in Reykjavik in September 2012: "Rarely have we experienced music that moves so many at one concert”.
Elisabeth Holte, the conductor and artistic director of Uranienborg Vocal Ensemble, graduated from the Norwegian Academy of Music as an organist and choirmaster, completing her Master's degree in conducting in 2000. She has also studied under the legendary Prof. Eric Ericson in Stockholm.