Ema Nikolovska - About

I am incredibly thankful for my BBT Award, which encourages me to dream big, to examine my values and creative impulses anew; this type of imaginative space can be rare to experience, especially when one is in the early stages of a career.

A spirited musical adventurer with a voice that is “focused, rich and velvety” (Classical Voice America), Ema brings her vitality and compelling powers of interpretation and communication to every role she undertakes. Of Macedonian-Canadian origin, she is based in Berlin and performs to critical acclaim in many of the world’s most prestigious opera houses and concert halls. With a repertoire reaching from Purcell to Benjamin, and a great deal in between, she is also a keen performer of new works. Composers are undoubtedly inspired by her dramatic skills, combined with her technically-assured and expressively nuanced voice that gives life to characters and ideas. Ema performed with fellow-BBT alumnus, Sean Shibe, as part of BBT’s 20th anniversary celebrations at London’s Wigmore Hall.

With the support of her BBT award, Ema has commissioned a song cycle, The Lake, from Errollyn Wallen, a reflection and response to Schubert’s Schwanengesang. She has also collaborated with Cassandra Miller to create an imaginatively complex work, Dream Memorandum/It Reminded Me of the Truth, which was premiered as part of the brilliantly inventive Orlando project, conceived and performed with BBT alumnus Sean Shibe. More recently, Ema has invested in new photography, and is developing plans for the launch of her first website.

Ema has been supported with a BBT Award since 2022.

For a current biography please visit askonasholt.com

Press Release: The Orlando Project

Photographs by Marco Borggreve and Simon Weir