Mari Aschehoug is a young lyrical soprano, with a bachelor and master degree from the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo. She studied with soprano Ann-Helen Moen. Her repertoire is versatile and include everything from early music to lieder, romances and opera.
Mari enjoys singing baroque music and has already been a soloist with the Norwegian Baroque Ensemble (Barokkanerne) several times, with leaders such as Steven Devine, Kati Debretzeni and Alexis Kossenko. During the first Aria Borealis Competition in Bodø June 2022, Mari replaced, on short notice, one of the soprano-candidates in the final round singing Poppea in excerpts from L'incoronazione di Poppea with Nordic Baroque. She did Purcell's Fairy Queen, lead by Laurence Cummings, with the Cambridge Early Music summer school 2022. She has also sung the soprano part in Händel's Messiah, Bach's Christmas oratorio, Pergolesis Stabat mater, Vivaldi's Gloria, Fauré's Requiem etc. In addition to this she has sung at master classes with Emma Kirkby, Lars Ulrik Mortensen, Susanna Eken, Susan Bullock, Marita Sølberg and Randi Stene and Audun Iversen to name a few.
Mari gained experience from singing in the children's choir at the Norwegian Opera from the age of 8 to 18 years old. She was awarded 1. Prize in Midgardkonkurransen and 2. prize in the UMM (youth music championship). She has been a soloist at the Oscarsborg Opera 20 years anniversary concert and in a project also by Oscarsborg Operaen called Opera Ung singing Adina. Mari has also been a cover for the lead role Agnes in the opera NOTHING by David Bruce at the Norwegian National Opera. She was a part of the Queen Sonja Competitions's new Opera Academy season 23/24.
In 2023 she sang her first Mahler 4th symphony with KORK (the Norwegian Radio Orchestra) and conductor Jonas Bürgin. She was a part of the Arctic Chamber Music Festival at Svalbard in 2024, where she premiered a completely new opera by Rachel Peters and librettist Royce Vavrek, including Mahler 4 with the Arctic Philharmonic and conductor Ben Palmer.