Mirusia Louwerse

Mirusia Louwerse
Louwerse at the 2012 ARIA No. 1 Chart Awards
Background information
Also known as Mirusia
Born (1985-03-29) 29 March 1985
Origin Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Genres Classical, classical crossover, operatic pop
Occupation(s) Singer
Instruments Vocals
Years active 2006–present
Labels Ambition Records/Timbre Records
Associated acts André Rieu
Website mirusia.net

Mirusia Louwerse (born 29 March 1985) is an Australian[1] soprano. She performs as Mirusia and is seen as "The Unconventional Pop Star"[2] and "The Angel of Australia".[3]

Career

Louwerse was born in Brisbane, Australia, and attended Ormiston College.[4] She graduated in December 2006 from the Queensland Conservatorium in Brisbane obtaining a Bachelor of Music in Performance in Classical Voice.[5] In 2006, Louwerse became the youngest ever winner of the Dame Joan Sutherland Opera Award[6] and went on to record a debut EP entitled She Walks in Beauty.

Her aunt, who lives in the Netherlands, contacted André Rieu to tell him about her niece's talent. He listened to her voice on her website and phoned her straight away and two days later she was standing before him in his studio ready to sing.[1]

She has been touring with the Dutch violinist and conductor André Rieu since 2007 as his star soprano.[7][8] She is of Dutch descent and can speak Dutch fluently. In May 2008, André Rieu and Louwerse released an album entitled Waltzing Matilda in Australia. It went to #1 on the Pop Charts and stayed there for many weeks and became the 20th best selling album in Australia in 2008.[9]

She appears on most of Rieu's DVDs and CDs, including I Lost My Heart in Heidelberg (2009). She sings the title song, "I Lost My Heart in Heidelberg|Ich hab' mein Herz in Heidelberg verloren", as well as "Zwei kleine Italiener", "In mir klingt ein Lied" and (with Carla Maffioletti and the Berlin Comedian Harmonists) "Adieu, mein kleiner Gardeoffizier".[10]

Louwerse, January 2011

Her solo album Always & Forever was released in Australia on 8 October 2010 and went straight to No. 17 on the ARIA pop charts.[11] It was released in The Netherlands in December 2010. Her DVD Always & Forever was released in March 2011 and stayed at the No. 1 position on the ARIA DVD charts for four weeks.[12] In 2012 Louwerse won the ARIA #1 Chart Award for Always & Forever and was the only classical artist to receive such an award.[13]

In 2013, Louwerse performed with André Rieu at the coronation concert of the king of the Netherlands, Willem-Alexander.[14] In this same year, to celebrate Benjamin Britten's 100th birthday, she performed under the baton of John Curro with the Queensland Youth Symphony Britten's War Requiem in the Queensland Performing Arts Centre.[15] 2013 also saw Louwerse embark on her first full scale national tour of The Netherlands on her "My Second Home Tour", which was also filmed for DVD and released as "Beautiful That Way" on DVD and CD.[16] In 2014, Louwerse toured with her solo tour "My Favorite Things" to sold out audiences across The Netherlands and Australia.[17]

She released her latest CD and DVD, This Time Tomorrow, in May 2016. The CD is a studio recording and the DVD was filmed live in The Netherlands. Both the CD and DVD charted in the Top 10 on the Dutch and Australian charts, with the CD's highest position at No. 1 on the ARIA Classical Crossover charts and the DVD at No. 4 on the ARIA Music DVD chart.[18][19]

Mirusia toured internationally in 2016 and the beginning of 2017 with her concert tour "This Time Tomorrow" with 40 concerts.[20]

In 2018, Mirusia is continuing touring internationally with her new concert tour "From the Heart" which began in The Netherlands in March 2017. Her new tour program, "An Enchanted Evening", is due to begin in September 2018 in The Netherlands.

Charity

Louwerse is an ambassador for the Australian Children's Music Foundation[21] and believes strongly that if children are exposed to music or are involved in music, they will grow up to be better human beings. Since 2010, Louwerse has participated in concerts to raise funds for the ACMF. She raised more than $260,000 in 2013, for the ACMF, Redland Foundation and Mater Children's Hospital, and was recognised with a 'QLD Volunteer of the Year' Award.[22] Louwerse is also the ambassador for the Redland Foundation, showing her support for her community where she grew up and still lives today.[23] She is the Star Ambassador for the Dutch Social Network Foundation, who help raise funds for sick children and their parents and source important medical equipment and treatments through social networking.[24]

Personal life

In July 2015, Mirusia Louwerse married her long term boyfriend Youri Wystyrk. The wedding was a much celebrated affair with André Rieu writing a special piece of music and filming a video clip of the pair before their wedding.[25] In December 2017, Mirusia gave birth to the couple's first child, Sascha. [26]

Discography

Year Album title
2006She Walks in Beauty (Independent release and no longer available)
2007Songs of Inspiration (ABC Classics)
2008Waltzing Matilda (Universal Music Australia) #1 ARIA pop charts
2008Waltzing Matilda – Special New Zealand Edition (Universal Music New Zealand)
2008Ich tanze mit Dir in den Himmel Hinein (Universal Music Germany)
2008Passionnément (Universal Music France)
2009I Lost My Heart in Heidelberg (DVD) (Universal) (Featured Soloist with André Rieu)
2010Always & Forever (CD) (Universal Music Australia and Universal Music Netherlands) #1 classical charts
2011Always & Forever (DVD) (Universal Australia) #1 ARIA DVD charts
2012Home (Independent Release)
2013Beautiful That Way (CD & DVD) (Timbre Records) European Release
2014Beautiful That Way (CD & DVD) (Timbre Records/Universal Australia)
2014My Favorite Things (CD) (Timbre Records) European Release
2015Wonderful World (DVD) (Universal) (Featured Soloist with André Rieu)
2015Roman Holiday (CD) (Universal) (Featured Soloist with André Rieu)
2016This Time Tomorrow (CD & DVD) (Timbre Records/Fanfare Records) #1 ARIA Classical Crossover Charts
2017From The Heart (CD) (Timbre Records/Fanfare Records)

References

  1. 1 2 Mirusia Louwerse at andrerieu.com
  2. ↑ "The Unconventional Pop Star", interview by Paul Cashmere, 3 December 2010, undercover.fm
  3. ↑
  4. ↑ "Lifelong Achievers", Ormiston College
  5. ↑ "Famous Queensland Conservatorium Of Music Alumni". www.ranker.com. 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  6. ↑ Media releases at Noosa Federation of the Arts; accessed 11 January 2011
  7. ↑ Soloist with André Rieu: http://www.andrerieu.com/nl/andre-jso/het-orkest/mirusia-louwerse
  8. ↑ http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/andre-reiu-in-manchester-10423499
  9. ↑ at aria.com.au
  10. ↑ André Rieu – I Lost My Heart in Heidelberg at skyarts.co.uk
  11. ↑ http://www.theaureview.com/the-goss/aria-chart-news-kings-of-leon-blasts-to-the-top-of-the-aria-album-chart-on-debut
  12. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-06.
  13. ↑ http://www.aria.com.au/documents/ARIANo1ChartAwardsposteventpressrelease10Aug2012.pdf
  14. ↑ http://www.redlandcitybulletin.com.au/story/1470327/mirusia-sings-for-new-king-and-queen/
  15. ↑ "QYS – War Requiem, QPAC
  16. ↑
  17. ↑
  18. ↑ http://www.ariacharts.com.au/charts/classicalcrossover-albums-chart, ARIA Charts
  19. ↑ http://dutchcharts.nl/weekchart.asp?cat=d Dutch charts
  20. ↑ http://www.mirusia.net
  21. ↑ Ambassador for the Australian Children's Music Foundation Archived 20 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine.
  22. ↑ http://www.masentertainment.com.au/browse/mirusia/
  23. ↑ http://www.redlandfoundation.org.au/about/ambassadors
  24. ↑ "Mirusia Louwerse: Muziek zit in alle mensen", Social Network Foundation (in Dutch)
  25. ↑ Rieu talking about Mirusia's Wedding
  26. ↑
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