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Dawn Upshaw (born July 17, 1960) is an American
soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...
. She is the recipient of several
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
s and has released a number of
Edison Award
The Edison Award is an annual Dutch music prize awarded for outstanding achievements in the music industry. It is comparable to the American Grammy Award. The Edison award itself is a bronze replica of a statuette of Thomas Edison, designed b ...
-winning discs; she performs both
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
and
art song, and her repertoire spans
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
to
contemporary
Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...
. Many composers, including
Henri Dutilleux
Henri Paul Julien Dutilleux (; 22 January 1916 – 22 May 2013) was a French composer active mainly in the second half of the 20th century. His small body of published work, which garnered international acclaim, followed in the tradition of ...
,
Osvaldo Golijov
Osvaldo Noé Golijov (; born December 5, 1960) is an Argentine composer of classical music and music professor, known for his vocal and orchestral work.
Biography
Osvaldo Golijov was born in and grew up in La Plata, Argentina, in a Jewish family ...
,
John Harbison
John Harris Harbison (born December 20, 1938) is an American composer, known for his symphonies, operas, and large choral works.
Life
John Harris Harbison was born on December 20, 1938, in Orange, New Jersey, to the historian Elmore Harris Harbi ...
,
Esa-Pekka Salonen
Esa-Pekka Salonen (; born 30 June 1958) is a Finnish orchestral conductor and composer. He is principal conductor and artistic advisor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, conductor laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and music di ...
,
John Adams
John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of t ...
, and
Kaija Saariaho
Kaija Anneli Saariaho (; ; born 14 October 1952) is a Finnish composer based in Paris, France. During the course of her career, Saariaho has received commissions from the Lincoln Center for the Kronos Quartet and from IRCAM for the Ensemble Inte ...
, have written for her. In 2007, she was awarded a
MacArthur Fellowship
The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to between 20 and 30 indi ...
.
[MacArthur Foundation](_blank)
/ref>
Early life
Dawn Upshaw was born in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
. She began singing while attending Rich East High School
Rich East High School or REHS was a public four-year high school located in Park Forest, Illinois, a southern suburb of Chicago in the United States. Rich East's campus serves the cities of Park Forest, Matteson, Olympia Fields, Chicago Heights ...
in Park Forest, Illinois
Park Forest is a village located south of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, with a small southern portion in Will County, Illinois, United States. The village was originally designed as a planned community for veterans returning from World War II ...
and was the only female ever promoted to the top choir (the Singing Rockets) as a sophomore, according to choir director Douglas Ulreich. She received a B.A. in 1982 from Illinois Wesleyan University
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockford ...
, where she studied voice with Dr. David Nott. She went on to study voice with Ellen Faull
Ellen Hartla Faull (14 October 1918 – 2 December 2008) was an American operatic soprano and voice teacher.Stabler, David"Ellen Faul: Singer, Teacher, Inspiration" ''The Oregonian'', 9 December 2008Cummings, David M.Faull, Ellen ''International W ...
at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, earning her M.M. in 1984. She also attended courses given by Jan DeGaetani
Jan (Janice) DeGaetani (July 10, 1933 – September 15, 1989) was an American mezzo-soprano known for her performances of contemporary classical vocal compositions.
DeGaetani was born in Massillon, Ohio. Educated at The Juilliard School with ...
at the Aspen Music School. She was a winner of the Young Concert Artists International Auditions
Young Concert Artists is a New York City-based non-profit organization dedicated to discovering and promoting the careers of talented young classical musicians from all over the world. The competition, founded in 1961, allows artists from all over ...
(1984) and the Walter M. Naumburg Competition (1985), and was a member of the Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is oper ...
Young Artists Development Program. Since her start in 1984, Upshaw has made more than 300 appearances at the Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is oper ...
.
Career
Upshaw came to international fame with her performance on the million-selling recording (1992), with David Zinman
David Zinman (born July 9, 1936, in Brooklyn, NY) is an American conductor and violinist.
Education
After violin studies at Oberlin Conservatory, Zinman studied theory and composition at the University of Minnesota, earning his M.A. in 1963. H ...
, of Symphony No 3 by Henryk Górecki
Henryk Mikołaj Górecki ( , ; 6 December 1933 – 12 November 2010) was a Polish composer of contemporary classical music. According to critic Alex Ross, no recent classical composer has had as much commercial success as Górecki. He became a l ...
, known as the ''Symphony of Sorrowful Songs'' (''Symfonia pieśni żałosnych'').
She has premiered more than twenty-five new works, notably Henri Dutilleux
Henri Paul Julien Dutilleux (; 22 January 1916 – 22 May 2013) was a French composer active mainly in the second half of the 20th century. His small body of published work, which garnered international acclaim, followed in the tradition of ...
's song-cycle ''Correspondances
''Correspondances'' is a song-cycle for soprano and orchestra written by the French composer Henri Dutilleux in 2002–2003.
It consists of five episodes and an interlude. The work was premiered by Simon Rattle and Dawn Upshaw with the Berlin P ...
'', and has embraced several pieces created for her, including the Grawemeyer Award
The Grawemeyer Awards () are five awards given annually by the University of Louisville. The prizes are presented to individuals in the fields of education, ideas improving world order, music composition, religion, and psychology. The religion awa ...
-winning opera ''L'Amour de Loin'' by Kaija Saariaho
Kaija Anneli Saariaho (; ; born 14 October 1952) is a Finnish composer based in Paris, France. During the course of her career, Saariaho has received commissions from the Lincoln Center for the Kronos Quartet and from IRCAM for the Ensemble Inte ...
, ''The Great Gatsby
''The Great Gatsby'' is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby ...
'' by John Harbison
John Harris Harbison (born December 20, 1938) is an American composer, known for his symphonies, operas, and large choral works.
Life
John Harris Harbison was born on December 20, 1938, in Orange, New Jersey, to the historian Elmore Harris Harbi ...
, the nativity oratorio
An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...
''El Niño
El Niño (; ; ) is the warm phase of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and is associated with a band of warm ocean water that develops in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific (approximately between the International Date ...
'' by John Adams
John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of t ...
, and Osvaldo Golijov's highly acclaimed chamber opera ''Ainadamar
''Ainadamar'' (Arabic for 'Fountain of Tears') is the first opera by Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov. The libretto was written by American playwright David Henry Hwang and translated from English into Spanish by the composer. It premiered in ...
'' and song cycle
A song cycle (german: Liederkreis or Liederzyklus) is a group, or cycle (music), cycle, of individually complete Art song, songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online''
The songs are either for solo voice ...
''Ayre''. In 2009, she premiered David Bruce's song cycle ''The North Wind was a Woman'' at the gala opening of the Chamber Music Society of the Lincoln Centre's season.
In addition to her operatic recordings, she has also sung the title role in the first complete recording of the score of Gershwin's '' Oh, Kay!''. She has also recorded albums of songs by Vernon Duke
Vernon Duke ( 16 January 1969) was a Russian-born American composer/songwriter who also wrote under his birth name, Vladimir Dukelsky. He is best known for " Taking a Chance on Love," with lyrics by Ted Fetter and John Latouche (1940), "I Can' ...
and Rodgers and Hart
Rodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership between composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and the lyricist Lorenz Hart (1895–1943). They worked together on 28 stage musicals and more than 500 songs from 1919 until Hart ...
. Upshaw was a guest of President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
and Mrs. Clinton on the NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
special ''Christmas in Washington''. The BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
presented a prime-time telecast of her 1996 London
Proms Concert, ''Dawn at Dusk'', in which she performed songs from American
musical theater
Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...
. Her engagements with
James Levine
James Lawrence Levine (; June 23, 1943 – March 9, 2021) was an American conductor and pianist. He was music director of the Metropolitan Opera from 1976 to 2016. He was terminated from all his positions and affiliations with the Met on March 1 ...
over many years led to a 1997 recording of
Claude Debussy songs.
Upshaw appears on an album of Christmas music in association with the male vocal ensemble
Chanticleer titled ''Christmas with Chanticleer featuring special guest Dawn Upshaw'' for Teldec Classics.
Upshaw tours regularly with pianist
Gilbert Kalish
Gilbert Kalish (born July 2, 1935) is an American pianist.
He was born in New York and studied with Leonard Shure, Julius Hereford and Isabelle Vengerova. He was a founding member of the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, a pioneering new music gro ...
.
Richard Goode
Richard Goode (born June 1, 1943) is an American classical pianist who is especially known for his interpretations of Mozart and Beethoven.
Early life
Goode was born in the East Bronx, New York. He studied piano with Elvira Szigeti, Claude Fra ...
and Margo Garrett are also long-standing partners. She has worked with director
Peter Sellars
Peter Sellars (born September 27, 1957) is an American theatre director, noted for his unique contemporary stagings of classical and contemporary operas and plays. Sellars is professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where ...
many times, including on his staging of
Händel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...
's ''Theodora'' at
Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne () is an English country house, the site of an opera house that, since 1934, has been the venue for the annual Glyndebourne Festival Opera. The house, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England, is thought to be about six hun ...
, his
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
production of
Stravinsky's ''
The Rake's Progress
''The Rake's Progress'' is an English-language opera from 1951 in three acts and an epilogue by Igor Stravinsky. The libretto, written by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman, is based loosely on the eight paintings and engravings '' A Rake's Prog ...
''—as part of the
Los Angeles Philharmonic and
Esa-Pekka Salonen
Esa-Pekka Salonen (; born 30 June 1958) is a Finnish orchestral conductor and composer. He is principal conductor and artistic advisor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, conductor laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and music di ...
's month-long residency at the
Théâtre du Châtelet
The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France.
One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a ...
, 1996—a staging of Bach's cantata
''Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut'', BWV 199, presented in the 1995–96 season at New York's
92nd Street Y, and the
Salzburg Festival
The Salzburg Festival (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Ama ...
production of
Olivier Messiaen's ''
Saint François d'Assise
''Saint François d'Assise : Scènes Franciscaines'' (English: Franciscan Scenes of Saint Francis of Assisi), or simply ''Saint François d'Assise'', is an opera in three acts and eight scenes by French composer Olivier Messiaen, who was also i ...
'' (1998). Upshaw has often performed as a soloist at the annual
Ojai Music Festival
The Ojai Music Festival is an annual classical music festival in the United States. Held in Ojai, California (75 miles northwest of Los Angeles), for four days every June, the festival presents music, symposia, and educational programs emphasizi ...
in California; most recently in 2006, 2008, and 2009. In 2011, she was the music director of the festival, where she performed the world premiere of the Peter Sellers-staged production of
George Crumb's work ''Winds of Destiny''. She joined the
Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO) is a full-time professional chamber orchestra based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. In collaboration with five Artistic Partners, the orchestra's musicians present more than 130 concerts and educational programs ea ...
as artistic partner beginning with the 2007–08 season, and she is artistic director of the Graduate Program in Vocal Arts at the
Bard College Conservatory of Music, which accepted its first students in the 2006–07 academic year. She also is a faculty member at the
Tanglewood Music Center
The Tanglewood Music Center is an annual summer music academy in Lenox, Massachusetts, United States, in which emerging professional musicians participate in performances, master classes and workshops. The center operates as a part of the Tanglew ...
.
Upshaw holds
honorary doctorates of arts from
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
, the
Manhattan School of Music,
Illinois Wesleyan University
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockford ...
, and
Allegheny College
he, תגל ערבה ותפרח כחבצלת
, mottoeng = "Add to your faith, virtue and to your faith, knowledge" (2 Peter 1:5)"The desert shall rejoice and the blossom as the rose" (Isaiah 35:1)
, faculty = 193 ...
. She is an Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University from 2020 to 2026.
Personal life
Upshaw is a divorced mother of two. She lives near New York City. She was diagnosed with and treated for early-stage breast cancer in 2006.
Awards and recognition
1989 Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Soloist
* ''
Knoxville: Summer of 1915'' (Music of
Barber
A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...
,
Menotti,
Harbison,
Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...
)''
1991 Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Soloist
* ''The Girl with Orange Lips'' (
Falla,
Ravel
Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...
, etc.)
2003 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance
* The
Kronos Quartet
The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for almost 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary classic ...
& Dawn Upshaw for ''
Berg Berg may refer to:
People
*Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name)
*Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor
* Berg (footballer) (born 1989), Brazilian footballer
Former states
*Berg (state), county and duchy of the Holy ...
: Lyric Suite''
2006 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording
* The
Atlanta Symphony
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) is an American orchestra based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The ASO's main concert venue is Atlanta Symphony Hall in the Woodruff Arts Center.
History
Though earlier organizations bearing the same name date ba ...
and chorus with Dawn Upshaw for ''
Golijov
Osvaldo Noé Golijov (; born December 5, 1960) is an Argentine composer of classical music and music professor, known for his vocal and orchestral work.
Biography
Osvaldo Golijov was born in and grew up in La Plata, Argentina, in a Jewish family ...
: Ainadamar (Fountain of Tears)''
2007
MacArthur Fellowship
The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to between 20 and 30 indi ...
2014 Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Soloist
* ''
Winter Morning Walks
''Winter Morning Walks'' is a studio album by Maria Schneider and Dawn Upshaw. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition and Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Classical in 2014.
Reception
Vincent Plush of ' ...
'' (''
Maria Schneider Maria Schneider may refer to:
* Maria Schneider (politician) (born 1923), East German politician
* Maria Schneider (actress) (1952–2011), French actress
* Maria Schneider (musician)
Maria Lynn Schneider (born November 27, 1960) is an Americ ...
'')
Selected discography
* 1990:
Marc-Antoine Charpentier
Marc-Antoine Charpentier (; 1643 – 24 February 1704) was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the main theme from the prelude of his ''Te Deum'', ''Marche en rondeau''. This theme is still us ...
: ''
Te deum
The "Te Deum" (, ; from its incipit, , ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to AD 387 authorship, but with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin Chur ...
'' H.146, ''Magnificat'' H.74,
Kurt Moll
Kurt Moll (11 April 19385 March 2017) was a German operatic bass singer who enjoyed an international career and was widely recorded.
His voice was notable for its range, a true basso profondo, including full, resonant low and very-low notes wi ...
, bass,
John Aler
John Aler (October 4, 1949 – December 10, 2022) was an American lyric tenor who performed in concerts, recitals, and operas. He was particularly known for his interpretations of the works of Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, and Handel.
B ...
, tenor, Dawn Upshaw, soprano, Ethna Robinson, contralto,
Ann Muray, soprano and contralto, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, conducted by
Neville Marriner
Sir Neville Marriner, (15 April 1924 – 2 October 2016) was an English violinist and "one of the world's greatest conductors". Gramophone lists Marriner as one of the 50 greatest conductors and another compilation ranks Marriner #14 of th ...
. CD EMI classics, 1991
* 1991: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: ''Le Nozze di Figaro'', conducted by James Levine, Deutsche Grammophon, 435 488-2
* 1992:
Jules Massenet: ''Chérubin'', conducted by Pinchas Steinberg, RCA Victor Red Seal CD, 09026-60593-2
* 1992:
Henryk Górecki
Henryk Mikołaj Górecki ( , ; 6 December 1933 – 12 November 2010) was a Polish composer of contemporary classical music. According to critic Alex Ross, no recent classical composer has had as much commercial success as Górecki. He became a l ...
: ''
Symphony No. 3'',
Nonesuch __NOTOC__
Nonesuch may refer to:
Plants
* ''Lychnis chalcedonica'', a wildflower
* ''Medicago lupulina'', a wildflower
Places and structures
*Nonesuch, Kentucky
*Nonesuch Island, Bermuda
*Nonesuch Mine, Michigan
*Nonesuch Palace, mis-spelling of ...
/Elektra Records CD, 79282
* 2005: ''
James Levine's 25th Anniversary Metropolitan Opera Gala
''James Levine's 25th Anniversary Metropolitan Opera Gala'' was a concert, lasting (including intermissions) approximately eight hours, that the Metropolitan Opera staged in 1996 in honour of its then principal conductor and artistic director. Exc ...
'' (1996), Deutsche Grammophon DVD, B0004602-09
* 2005: ''
Ayre (Golijov)'', Deutsche Grammophon CD, 00289 477 5414
References
External links
Colbert Artists Management, Inc.*
by Bruce Duffie, April 25, 1991
Cornell University Andrew Dickson White Professors-at-Large biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Upshaw, Dawn
American operatic sopranos
1960 births
Living people
Grammy Award winners
MacArthur Fellows
Bard College faculty
Nonesuch Records artists
Illinois Wesleyan University alumni
Manhattan School of Music alumni
Singers from Nashville, Tennessee
Classical musicians from Tennessee
20th-century American women opera singers
21st-century American women opera singers
Erato Records artists
American women academics
Cornell University faculty