Raised in Melbourne, Jacob Lawrence moved to Switzerland in 2016 to study with Gerd Türk at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. Now based in Basel, he performs regularly with many of Europe’s foremost early music ensembles in both opera and concert settings. 

Jacob was a laureate of the 10th edition of the Jardin des Voix, the young artist program of Les Arts Florissants. Singing the role of Emilio in Handel’s Partenope under the direction of William Christie and Paul Agnew, he toured throughout Europe in 20 performances, including at the Lucerne Festival, the Philharmonie de Paris, the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia and the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona.

Jacob’s operatic repertoire includes the title role in Monteverdi’s Orfeo (Profeti della Quinta /Trigonale Festival) and Lamento (Gare du Nord Basel / Schlosstheater Schwetzingen); for Pinchgut Opera, Ubaldo in Haydn’s Armida, Eumete / Giove in Monteverdi’s The Return of Ulysses, and
Soldato / Lucano / Liberto in The Coronation of Poppea; Aeneas in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas (Royal Melbourne Philharmonic / Peninsula Summer Music Festival); and The Sailor (Les Arts Florissants) and Hyllus in Handel’s Hercules (Canberra, Handel in the Theatre).

In 2020 Jacob was a finalist in the Cesti International Competition for Baroque Opera in Innsbruck. Jacob has a particular passion for music of the 16th and 17th centuries, and appears regularly as a consort singer and soloist with groups championing this repertoire, including Vox Luminis, Profeti della Quinta, Ensemble Correspondances, La Cetra Basel, Le Miroir de Musique and Ensemble Leones. He also collaborates regularly with Elam Rotem and Early Music Sources. 

He is a fervent researcher of improvisation and performance practices of the Renaissance and Baroque, and was the winner of the 2020 Schloss Weißenbrunn Bovicelli Competition for Historical Improvisation.