Duo Étrange – redefining what classical chamber music can be

Bourgie Hall presents

Duo Étrange: Voice and Cello

Duo Étrange is rising to prominence on the Quebec music scene as an ensemble that redefines what classical chamber music can be. Shortly after recording their debut album, the cello-soprano duo presents a program of new works, including the premiere of a Bourgie Hall co-commission from Nicole Lizée.

Duo Étrange is an award winning voice and cello duo founded by cellist Sahara von Hattenberger and soprano Vanessa Croome. Dedicated to the creation and performance of new works for voice and cello. New Music USA 2025 Creator Fund award winners and a Canada Council for the Arts supported ensemble. The duo has received remarkable early success since their founding in 2023.

 “Gifted and promising… Duo Étrange is redefining vocal chamber music” (Pan M 360). 

Their début album will be released with ATMA Classique on February 24th, 2026 alongside this début at Salle Bourgie. The album will feature four world premieres by celebrated composers Nicole Lizée, Airat Ichmouratov, Laurence Jobidon and Jeffrey Fong alongside works by Anders Hillborg, Luna Pearl Woolf, and Maya Fridman.

The mission of Duo Étrange is to develop engaging chamber music for modern audiences by blending classical traditions with modern aesthetics. Brought together by John Tavener’s setting of Anna Akhmatova’s poetry, the Duo discovered the pairing of soprano and cello, while uncommon in the classical canon, connects them to new sound worlds, inspired by the rich tradition of troubadour and singer-songwriter performers. 

Vanessa and Sahara’s story has been intertwined since childhood. Both grew up as young musicians in small towns on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, just an hour’s drive apart from each other, and both went on to study at McGill University after leaving home at 16. Yet their paths did not cross until 2023, when they collaborated for the first time at Montreal’s Chapelle historique du Bon-Pasteur — one of the venue’s final concerts before a tragic fire. Their friendship and artistic partnership feel destined, rooted in shared origins and a mutual drive to explore the world through music. Today, Duo Étrange divides its time between Montreal and New York.

Artists
Duo Étrange 
Vanessa Croome, soprano
Sahara von Hattenberger, cello

Airat Ichmouratov, clarinet
Joanne Kang, piano

Program
Airat ICHMOURATOV Quatrains of Wisdom (premiere)
Nicole LIZÉE Premiere for Soprano, Cello and Electronics (Bourgie Hall co-commission)
Laurence JOBIDON New work, for soprano, cello and piano (premiere)
PREVIN Vocalise
Luna Pearl WOOLF Quatrains of Love
Jeffrey FONG Dans un sentier tout parfumé (premiere)
Anders HILLBORG Kväll

Tuesday, February 24, 2026 at 7:30pm
To purchase your tickets, visit: www.mbam.qc.ca/en/bourgie-hall/