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]

Contents 1 Career 2 Charity 3 Personal life 4 Discography 4.1 Studio albums 4.2 Live albums 4.3 Extended plays 5 References 6 External links 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 April 2008, André Rieu and Louwerse released an album entitled Waltzing Matilda. The album peaked at number 1 on the ARIA Charts, was certified platinum and became the 20th best selling album in Australia in 2008.[9]

Louwerse, January 2011

Her solo album Always & Forever was released in Australia on 8 October 2010 and debuted at number 17.[10] 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.[11] In 2012 Louwerse won the ARIA #1 Chart Award for Always & Forever and was the only classical artist to receive such an award.[12]

In 2013, Louwerse performed with André Rieu at the coronation concert of the king of the Netherlands, Willem-Alexander.[13] 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.[14] 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.[15] In 2014, Louwerse toured with her solo tour "My Favorite Things" to sold out audiences across The Netherlands and Australia.[16]

She released 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.[17][18]

Mirusia toured internationally in 2016 and the beginning of 2017 with her concert tour "This Time Tomorrow" with 40 concerts.[19]

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[20] 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.[21] Louwerse is also the ambassador for the Redland Foundation, showing her support for her community where she grew up and still lives today.[22] 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.[23]

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.[24] In December 2017, Mirusia gave birth to the couple's first child, Sascha.[25]

Discography Studio albums List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and certifications Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications AUS[26] GER NED[27] NZ[28] Waltzing Matilda (with André Rieu) Released: April 2008 Label: Universal Music Australia (5307654) Formats: CD 1 - - 3 ARIA: Platinum [29] Ich tanze mit dir in den Himmel hinein(with André Rieu) Released: October 2008 Label: Universal Music Germany (0602517874862) Formats: CD - 50 - - Always and Forever Released: October 2010 Label: Universal Music Australia (5330693) Formats: CD, DD 17 - 34 - Home Released: July 2012 Label: Mirusia Louwerse Formats: DD - - - - My Favourite Things Released: November 2014 Label: Mirusia Louwerse Formats: DD - - 17 - This Time Tomorrow Released: April 2016 Label: Fanfare Records (FANFARE233) Formats: CD, DD 23 - - - From the Heart Released: February 2017 Label: Timbre Records (8718456049161) Formats: CD, DD - - 32 - A Salute to the Seekers Released: 25 January 2019[30] Label: Fanfare Records (FANFARE305) Formats: CD, DD, streaming TBR TBR TBR TBR