Contralto Christine Jasper relocated to Jersey during the pandemic, where she has established ‘Moments Musicaux Jersey’, continuing her successful series of London house concerts she curated at the Leighton House Museum in her former hometown London.

As her background is in Musicology, she is also the dramaturg of the programmes she presents, for example, ‘Love and the Sea’ or Brahms ‘Liebesliederwalzer’, for which she gathered a group of renowned London musicians around her for performances in Leighton House Museum.

During lockdown, she was asked to perform together with the principal flutist of the famous Bolshoi Theatre in the Rotary online Christmas concert 2020, jointly presented by the Rotary Clubs of Kensington-Chelsea and Moscow. 2022 saw her perform Pergolesi’s ‘Stabat Mater’ in a sold-out Easter Concert in St Helier, Jersey. For ‘Moments Musicaux Jersey’ she curated 9 Summer concerts for the ‘Create Jersey’ Summer 2022 Festival and performed ‘Sea Pictures’ by Elgar as part of the series. 2023 saw Christine return to London to join the London Symphony Chorus for a concert performance of Janacek’s ‘Katya Khabarova’ under Sir Simon Rattle at the Barbican. For the Government of Jersey she curated the music for the first visit of a German Ambassador to Jersey’s Liberation Day (9th May) and performed Dido’s Lament with Gerard LeFeuvre, Cello at the event. A sold-out Christmas concert at St Helier’s Town Church with excerpts of Bach’s ‘Christmas Oratorio’ and Handel’s ‘Messiah’ ended the year.

During 2024 Christine performed locally in Jersey in Lied repertoire, including Wagner’s ‘Wesendonck Lieder for the first time, and a programme of Baroque Arias in a newly found Duo-Partnership with David Davies, Cello. Plans for 2025 include a return to Brahms’ ‘Liebeslieder Waltzes’ and a recording project, whilst at the same time she continues to grow ‘Moments Musicaux Jersey’, which is now in its 3rd successful season with projects including concerts for the Jersey Opera House.

Christine has been described as of ‘‘thoroughly authentic Russian quality in both tone and phrasing” by ‘Seen and Heard International’ for her Alto solo in the London Symphony Choir’s Cardiff concert of Rachmaninov Vespers. She also sang the part at their concerts in Basingstoke, at the Newbury Festival and the London Barbican as well as in a CD production, released by ‘LSO Live’ in 2016. The CD too received critical acclaim from ‘Gramophone’, which complimented on the awareness of Russian tradition in her solo. Other recordings include the solo part in a BBC Studio concert and Radio production broadcast on BBC Radio 3 with the BBC Symphony Chorus under Stephen Jackson in Carl Ruetti’s ‘Lieder der Liebe’ in 2012.

The unusual contralto timbre and rare dark colour of her voice have led Christine to explore the core repertoire of the Contralto Fach. Prior to Covid, she sang her first ‘Erda’ in a staged production with the orchestra of Wagner’s ‘Rheingold’’ at the Dramatic Voices Program in Berlin. In 2017 she participated in a selection of Opera scenes directed by William Relton and Christopher Cowell at the Associated Studios London. Scenes included ‘Werther’/ Massenet (Charlotte), ‘Linda di Chamounix’/ Donizetti (Pierotto), ‘Sir John in Love/ Vaughan Williams (Mrs Quickly) and ‘Hamlet’ / Ambroise Thomas (Gertrude). The same season she joined the Chorus of Dorset Opera Festival for productions of ‘Faust’ (Gounod) and ‘Le Comte Ory’ (Rossini).

An experienced ensemble singer, Christine was a member of the BBC Symphony Chorus from 2011 to 2013 and joined the Altos of the London Symphony Chorus from 2014, where she remained until 2023. She has sung in numerous symphonic concerts in all major London venues, including the Royal Albert Hall for the Last Night of the Proms and the Royal Opera House, and participated in tours across the UK and abroad (Lincoln Centre/ New York, Philharmonie/ Luxembourg, Theatre des Champs Elysees/ Paris). Conductors under which Christine has worked as part of choral singing include Bernard Haitink, Antonio Pappano, Simon Rattle, Semyon Bychkov, Gianandrea Noseda, Gustavo Dudamel, Daniel Harding, Michael Tilson Thomas, Valery Gergiev and Edward Gardner. Frequent radio and TV broadcasts (BBC) and CD productions are part of her chorus activity as well.

Christine completed the Opera Course at Associated Studios in London in 2017 and studied with vocal Coach Paul Farrington and Caroline Dowdle, Piano. She holds a Master’s Degree in Musicology and German Literature from Freiburg University - with a Master's Thesis on ‘Hans Zenders kompositorische Interpretation von Franz Schuberts Winterreise - and an MBA (Purdue University). Participation in Masterclasses - especially a week with Christa Ludwig in Austria in 2017 - and with artists such as Sophie Daneman, Rosalind Plowlind, Eric Schneider and Anne Schwanewilms continue to give her impulse for her artistic development.

(2024)