About

Duo Étrange

Duo Étrange is an award winning voice and cello duo founded by cellist Sahara von Hattenberger and soprano Vanessa Croome. Dedicated to the creation and performance of new works for voice and cello, they are New Music USA 2025 Creator Fund award winners and a Canada Council for the Arts supported ensemble. The duo has received remarkable early success since their founding in 2023.

"Gifted and promising... Duo Étrange is redefining vocal chamber music"
Pan M 360

Their début album will be released with ATMA Classique on February 24th, 2026 alongside a début at Salle Bourgie. The album will feature four world premieres by celebrated composers Nicole Lizée, Airat Ichmouratov, Laurence Jobidon and Jeffrey Fong alongside works by Anders Hillborg, Luna Pearl Woolf, and Maya Fridman.

The Duo is rapidly making a name for themselves on the concert stage and in the world of new music with international débuts at Salle Bourgie, Avaloch Farm Music Institute, Le Vivier, and Montreal's historic concert series Chapelle Historique du Bon Pasteur slated for 2026 and 2027. In June 2025, Duo Étrange was featured as part of a gallery showcase with Metropolitan Opera director Marcus Shields and Broadway scenographer Frank J Oliva for their multi-disciplinary concert concept Very Feral Today. Additional recent artistic residencies include Yellow Barn and Avaloch Farm developing an original arrangement of Ligeti's Mysteries of the Macabre for cello and vocal-percussionist. The Duo's upcoming commission supported by New Music USA will feature a new song collection by the genre-bending prodigious young composer Kebra Seyoun-Charles.

The Duo

Artists

Vanessa Croome

Soprano

Vanessa Croome is a critically acclaimed soprano known for her work in contemporary and classical repertoire across opera and recital. Recognized for her versatility and range she has premiered new operas at the Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and Opéra de Montréal, with recent debuts with the Jacksonville Symphony, Orchestre Métropolitain, and l'Orchestre de l'Agora. A former resident artist at Santa Fe Opera and Opera de Montréal, Vanessa is the co-founder of Duo Étrange. Upcoming engagements include residencies with Bang on a Can and Avaloch farms, as well as débuts with Salle Bourgie, Le Vivier, and Opéra du Royaume.

www.vanessacroome.com

Sahara von Hattenberger

Cello

Sahara is a member of the Chamber Orchestra of New York, and is the co-founder of Duo Étrange. As a soloist and chamber musician, Sahara is a winner of multiple project grants by both Chamber Music America and the Canada Council for the Arts totalling more than $100,000; which have allowed her to commission such composers as Nicole Lizée, Kebra Seyoun-Charles, Airat Ichmouratov, Remy Le Boeuf, Jeffrey Fong, Malcolm Sailor, Laurence Jobidon, and more. Sahara performs regularly at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Chapelle Historique du Bon-Pasteur, and Salle Bourgie. She has been a resident artist at Bang on a Can's Mass MoCA festival, Yellow Barn, Avaloch institute, and Pôle Relève through Le Vivier. In 2024 she released her first solo album 1Q84 through the label Odd Sounds with collaborative pianist Joanne Kang (from Carnegie Hall's Ensemble Connect) as well as acclaimed jazz performers Jim Doxas (drums) and Adrian Vedady (bass), which featured repertoire by Claude Bolling alongside three new commissions. The album was featured on CBC Radio Canada, Jazziz, V13, AllAboutJazz, Whole Note Magazine, and more. "With 1Q84, we discover a solo artist who navigates contrasts of genre and style with ease, gifted with beautiful musicality, sound and an airy, lithe, highly precise technique.." - Frederic Cardin, PANM360