The Austrian vocalist Michaela Riener was trained from an early age as a pianist and flutist. Recipient of a prestigious scholarship from the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, she received her master’s degree in pedagogy in 2004. She received her Bachelors Degree in Classical Singing and Early Music Singing from the Royal Conservatory in The Hague in 2008, studying with Lenie van den Heuvel and Gerda van Zelm, and is further pursuing advanced studies in singing and historical performance practice, working with Jill Feldman, Michael Chance, and Peter Kooij.
A versatile artist, Michaela Riener is constantly expanding her vocabulary and technique. Her passion for chamber music has led to her involvement in several unique ensembles, including the Austrian Early Music group EnAMus (Ensemble für Alte Musik). Riener is an interpreter of the English lute song, performing with the ensemble Queen’s Delight with lutist Reinhard Bartl. She further sings with Cappella Amsterdam and De Nederlandse Bachvereniging, working with conductors such as Rinaldo Allessandrini, Frans Bruggen, Marcus Creed, Richard Egarr, Daniel Reuss, Masaaki Suzuki and Jos van Veldhoven.
She performs together with L’Arpeggiata, Il Trionfo del tempo, Les Muffatti and the Huelgas Ensemble. Together with the soprano Stefanie True and the fortepianist Constanze Lee she forms Trio Luscinia, performing Lied repertoire.
With her Anstatt dass Trio, Michaela Riener takes yet another direction. With a saxophonist and a marimba player, the trio performs music from the twenties and thirties, interpreting Brecht’s texts in songs by Eisler, Dessau, and Weill.
Michaela Riener is a dedicated advocate of contemporary music and works closely with composers. In 2006, she joined the well-known new music group ELECTRA, a virtuoso four-member ensemble that has performed in festivals and venues throughout the world.
Recent solo engagements include performances of works by Steve Reich and Hanns Eisler with the Asko Ensemble and Louis Andriessen’s “La Passione” at Prague Spring Festival 2008. With Ensemble Klang, she performed Martijn Padding’s work “Speculum inversum” at festivals in the Czech Republic and in The Netherlands. Under the direction of David Robertson, Riener soloed in Louis Andriessen’s work TAO, together with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
Michaela Riener is currently collaborating with New York-based composer Michael Gordon and the dance company EmioGreco / PC in “Popopera”, with performances in the Holland Festival and worldwide.