JOSIE LARSEN

Josie Larsen’s truest passion is bringing joy to others through music. She discovered at a young age that she had a natural talent for singing, but gradually discovered how she could touch those with whom she shared her talent. It is important for her to be actively engaged with her audience in every performance ranging from a preschool class to a concert hall. 

 

Currently, Josie is diving into the character, Fiordiligi from Mozart’s Così fan tutte. She is enjoying the more juvenile and giddy behaviors this character lets her explore. Following her performances of Così fan tutte in Jordan Hall, she will have her final recital as an NEC Artist Diploma singer. This will take place at the end of March, also in the historic Jordan Hall. 

 

This summer Josie will be delighted to be a Lehrer fellow at Music Academy of the West. At this summer program she will do many things including singing Annunciata from Bolcom’s Lucrezia and cover the role of Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. 

 

One of Josie’s favorite role experiences has been growing to understand the Governess in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw. She loved the challenge of interpreting the libretto and getting to decide for herself the level of sanity that remained in the Governess. Josie’s favorite opera composers to sing today are Giacomo Puccini and W.A. Mozart. She loves the rich romanticism in Puccini’s compositions and simply how beautiful and enticing his work is. Her draw to Mozart lies in his talent of story telling and captivating melodies. Josie has had the opportunity to sing Mimi from Puccini’s La Bohème. This role put Puccini’s talent of writing for the voice on full display. Josie has also had the opportunity to cover the role of the Countess from Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro while she attended the Aspen Music Festival last summer. 

 

When Josie first had the opportunity to sing with an entire orchestra behind her, she was just 15 years old. This quickly became Josie’s favorite way to perform. When she had the opportunity to be a soloist in Mozart’s mass in C minor it brought all of her favorite things together. Singing Mozart as a soloist with a choir and orchestra accompanying her was one of her most fulfilling performances to date. It was a chance to collaborate with so many incredible musicians and friends, and was memorable for all. 

 

Originally from Sammamish Washington. She is the youngest of 3 children, has 2 in-laws, and 4 beautiful nieces with whom she is rightfully obsessed. Growing up, Josie was always a very precocious young girl who loved playing dress up while singing all around the house to find the loudest spot. Becoming an opera singer should have been on everyone's mind for Josie’s future from the start. 

 

Josie’s other passions include reading, cooking, spending time with friends and family, and most recently, teaching herself to embroider. She grew up in a home with two excellent home chefs who taught her everything she knows about cooking and baking. Her parents made preparing food and spending time in the kitchen a family activity, and it is something she cherishes and plans to carry forward into her own family. Most of the food Josie craves and loves to cook is Asian-inspired. People often ask her why this is and her response is that “growing up in the Seattle area provided exposure to many excellent Asian restaurants, and at the time, that was the only food my parents didn’t venture to create themselves, so we would go out to eat something Asian. So I learned how to bring it into my home after I left for college.” A year ago, Josie was looking for a new hobby that she could do anywhere. That’s when she was inspired by a dear friend of hers to begin embroidering. Many finger pricks later and Josie can say that she finally finished her first simple project. 

 

Josie is grateful that she was able to turn her love for singing into a career, giving her the opportunity to share something she loves with people everyday.