Founder and conductor of Ensemble Lumina, Caroline Drury, is an astute musician and has made a number of appearances as conductor, soprano, and pianist, in the US, Europe, and the Middle East.
Caroline has a strong background as both a formally trained singer and a skilled instrumentalist. When she officially picked up the baton in 2014, she realized this unique combination of perspectives brings an added depth to her abilities as a choral conductor.
An accomplished artist, she was heard most recently as the soprano soloist in Brahms Requiem with the Association Symphonique de Paris. She is hailed as having a voice “of uncommon distinctiveness, creamy and full as it moved through the break to a lustrous top register,” “perfect in placement and pitch.” She has been featured as a soloist in Mäntyjärvi’s Canticum calamitatis maritimae, Haydn’s Die Schöpfung, Bach’s Johannes Passion and B Minor Mass, Händel’s Joshua and Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, Fauré’s Requiem, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle, Mendelssohn’s Lobesgesang, among others. She has had the privilege of singing under conductors Howard Arman, Volker Hempfling, Michael Reif, Joseph Rescigno, James Rightmyer, Kent Hatteberg, Fred Gramann, and Franck Chastrusse. Operatic roles include Zauberin (Die Schneekönigin), Susanna, Zerlina, Mother (Amahl), Papagena, Princess (Everyone Wants To Be Free), and Nora (Riders to the Sea). Drury has sung as a professional chorister in a number of choirs, most notably with Leipzig’s Rundfunchor MDR, Kölner Kantorei, and Europäischer Kammerchor.
A proficient pianist, Caroline has served in Germany, the US, and Lebanon as a collaborative pianist with various churches, in seminars, and in academia. She is an experienced vocal coach with an acute ear for languages and a strong command of language diction. She has also accompanied a large number of choirs throughout her career. Caroline spent her formative musical training also as a violinist, performing in selective orchestras in her home state of Illinois until she was 18.
She holds a Masters in Music from the Manhattan School of Music and graduated from the University of Louisville School of Music summa cum laude. Drury also holds a Masters in Human Rights and Humanitarian Action from Sciences Po Paris. Caroline is based in Paris with her husband, Hadi Fakhreddine, and their two children, Luciano (after Pavarotti) and Leonora (after multiple opera heroines).
Co-founder Hadi Fakhreddine is an amateur baritone and avid supporter of vocal music. He began private voice lessons in the early 2000s, which led to his passion for opera, classical music, and choral singing. He has sung with the American University of Beirut and was a founding member of Beirut Vocal Point.
Soon after relocating to France in 2014, Hadi founded Ensemble Lumina with Caroline, with an aim to form a chamber choir that offers musical rigour and a strong sense of community. He works closely with the Director and the Lumina Planning Committee, supporting every aspect of the ensemble’s activities, including promotion, recruitment, logistics, repertoire, and fostering the welcoming, warm spirit at the heart of the group.
Hadi performs regularly in Paris both in recital and with local choirs. He holds two Master’s degrees in Computer Science and Information Systems Management, and is a Senior Project Manager at Salesforce. Hadi is based in Paris with his wife, Caroline, and their two children, Luciano (after Pavarotti) and Leonora (after multiple opera heroines).