
Janelle Lucyk
"Such an angelic voice. Her expressiveness is beyond words. It's as though she's channeling God." - Dr Cowan
Janelle Lucyk is a leader among an emerging generation of Canadian artists specializing in old music and historically informed performance, taking ideas from conception to the stage.
In fall 2022, she was invited by legendary organist Xaver Varnus to perform at his two sold out performances in Hungary, including at the spectacular Bartók National Concert Hall in Budapest. She has had the good fortune of working as a soloist with the Kings College Chapel Choir under five-time Grammy winner Paul Halley on many unforgettable concerts including Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 and Selva Morale e Spirituale and multiple Bach Passions. Janelle is the artistic director of Ménestrel (Old French meaning entertainer), her early music ensemble with Kerry Bursey. She performs across Canada as a soloist with Theatre of Early Music, Per Sonatori, Aureas Voces and Ensemble Caprice, and premiered jazz songs written for her by Peter-Anthony Togni. In December 2022, Ménestrel toured a new production of Handel's Messiah which congregated 21 emerging performers from across Canada to be featured in historic Nova Scotian venues.
Following mentor and arts champion Barbara Butler, Janelle assumed the role of Artistic and Administrative Director of Musique Royale (est. 1985), a music presenter based in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia which enriches historic spaces through the sharing of world class early music, and much more. Last year included concerts in over forty different historic venues across the spectacular maritime province.
As a child, Janelle's family lived in Singapore, Australia, and Germany and she was exposed to different musical traditions in the many places they visited. She graduated in 2014 with distinction from the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles in Belgium where she debuted Lux Aeterna, written for her and the Brussels Chamber Choir by Jan Moeyaert, performed as a soloist and recorded with Musica Fura (Praetorius Christmas Mass) and Laudantes Consort (Palestrina), and formed Voces Desuper, an ensemble performing regularly in the magnificent Cathédrale de Saints-Michel-et-Gudule, and especially at the Te Deum ceremony for the King and Queen of Belgium. Following, she completed her Masters in Management at Durham University in the UK and won the role of Susanna in Durham Opera Ensemble’s The Marriage of Figaro for which she was awarded the Best Soloist by Music Durham, and Best Female Soloist by her peers at the DOE. Janelle was the youngest member of Regina Symphony Orchestra and with them performed Vivaldi's Four Seasons as violin soloist in 2009
Janelle is ever grateful to the Canada Council of the Arts, the Federal Department of Canadian Heritage, Arts Nova Scotia and Brent Rinaldi for their support.