Luke Elmer (28) is a countertenor from Flower Mound, Texas. He joined the Grammy Award-winning San Francisco-based vocal ensemble Chanticleer in August 2024 and has since been touring the world, enjoying making music with America’s premiere group of countertenors, tenors, baritone, and basses. He sings Soprano 3 in the group and sits the Ning G. Mercer Chair for the Preservation of the Chanticleer Legacy, endowed by Ning and Stephen Mercer.

He also sings with Ensemble Affect, a Chicago-born, San Francisco–based Historically Informed Performance (HIP) ensemble. Founders Pauline Kempf and Seth van Embden first brought Luke in for a residency at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington in the spring of 2024. Committed to bringing thrilling music from the Baroque, Classical, and Renaissance periods to audiences nationwide, Ensemble Affect is dedicated to promoting historical performance through accessible, engaging, and affordable experiences.

Luke began studying piano with Connie Riska at the age of five and sang in the church choir throughout adolescence. He studied percussion throughout middle school and high school with Matt Quinlan, Nick Werth, Dennis Carty, Kevin Rank, Matt Penland, Reid Paxton, and Darrin Hicks. He sang in the Flower Mound High School Mixed Choir, the FMHS Jaguar Chorale, and the chamber ensemble Shades of Blue under Dr. Mark Rohwer and Adela Martinez. He studied voice privately with Mrs. Robin Tercero Montgomery and Dana Harlow Taylor.

In 2019, Luke received his undergraduate degree in Vocal Performance from Brigham Young University, where he studied voice with Darrell Babidge, Dr. Robert Brandt, Michelle Scott, and Elise Read Anderson and spent three years in the BYU Singers under Dr. Andrew Crane. In 2018, he competed in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in the Utah District and received an Encouragement Award. In his final year at BYU, he sang the role of Didymus in a staged production of Handel’s oratorio, Theodora, as well as The Sorceress in a graduate student-led production of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. During his time there, he worked as a choral artist with Leland Spindler’s Lux Singers and Dr. Matthew D. Nielsen’s Brevitas.

After BYU, Luke completed his graduate studies at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he studied with César Ulloa and earned his Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance in 2022. At SFCM, he performed the roles of Ottone in Handel’s Ottone, the Fairy Godmother/Balladeer in Bock and Harnick’s The Apple Tree, Tolomeo in Handel’s Giulio Cesare, and The Book of Fate/Old Woman/Mrs. Northwind in Jonathan Dove’s The Enchanted Pig. During and after graduate school, he sang for the Archbishop’s Schola for the Archdiocese of San Francisco as a freelance chorister.

After graduation, Luke made his operatic debut with Long Beach Opera, singing the titular role in their production of Handel’s Giustino, directed by James Darrah. During the 2022-2023 school year, Luke kept a studio of private voice and piano students at the Spindrift School of the Performing Arts in Pacifica, California.

Luke spent the summer of 2023 with world-class opera singers as an Apprentice Artist with The Santa Fe Opera, where he performed the role of the Third Pastor in Yuval Sharon’s production of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, which featured the world premiere of Nico Muhly’s new orchestration of the work.

After Santa Fe, Luke took the inverse journey of Jack Kelly from Newsies and moved to New York with the intention of furthering his singing career. He found success as a chorister at many of New York City’s distinguished churches, including the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church Chamber Choir under Dr. Ryan Jackson, the St. Bartholomew’s Choir under Dr. Paolo Bordignon, and the St. Thomas Choir of Men and Boys under Jeremy Filsell.

Just before joining Chanticleer, Luke spent another summer with brilliant opera stars as a Gerdine Young Artist at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis under director and soprano, Patricia Racette. He covered the role of Ptolemy in Elkanah Pulitzer’s production of Handel’s Julius Caesar and Cardinal 1 in James Robinson’s production of Glass’s Galileo Galilei. 

Luke is a proud pet parent to a fluffy orange cat, Leo. He sings for his grandmother Dorothy, who taught him to love music, and for his family who teach him love.