Dawn Upshaw (born July 17, 1960) is an American

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical 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 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

. She is the recipient of several

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

s and has released a number of Edison Award-winning discs; she performs both

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

and

art song An art song is a Western world, Western vocal music Musical composition, composition, usually written for one voice with piano accompaniment, and usually in the classical music, classical art music tradition. By extension, the term "art song" is ...

, and her repertoire spans

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

to contemporary. Many composers, including Henri Dutilleux, Osvaldo Golijov, John Harbison,

Esa-Pekka Salonen Esa-Pekka Salonen (; born 30 June 1958) is a Finnish conducting, conductor and composer. He is the music director of the San Francisco Symphony and conductor laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra in London and the Sw ...

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

, and Kaija Saariaho, have written for her. In 2007, she was awarded a

MacArthur Fellowship The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and colloquially called the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the MacArthur Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to typically between 20 and ...

.MacArthur Foundation
/ref> In 2006, she founded the Graduate Vocal Arts Program at Bard College Conservatory in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, serving as artistic director until 2019. She currently serves as head of the Vocal Arts Program at the Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox, Massachusetts.

Early life

Dawn Upshaw was born in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. She began singing while attending Rich East High School in Park Forest, Illinois 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 Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college in Bloomington, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1850, the central portion of the present campus was acquired in 1854 with the first building erected in 1856. History The in ...

, where she studied voice with Dr. David Nott. She went on to study voice with Ellen Faull at the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music a ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, earning her M.M. in 1984. She also attended courses given by Jan DeGaetani at the Aspen Music School. She was a winner of the Young Concert Artists International Auditions (1984) and the Walter M. Naumburg Competition (1985), and was a member of the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

Young Artists Development Program. Since her start in 1984, Upshaw has made more than 300 appearances at the

Career

Upshaw came to international fame with her performance on the million-selling recording (1992), with David Zinman, of Symphony No 3 by Henryk Górecki, known as the ''Symphony of Sorrowful Songs'' (''Symfonia pieśni żałosnych''). She has premiered more than twenty-five new works, notably Henri Dutilleux's song-cycle '' Correspondances'', and has embraced several pieces created for her, including the Grawemeyer Award-winning opera ''L'Amour de Loin'' by Kaija Saariaho, ''

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 Jay Gatsby, a mysterious mi ...

'' by John Harbison, the nativity

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

El Niño EL, El or el may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities * El, a character from the manga series ''Shugo Chara!'' by Peach-Pit * Eleven (''Stranger Things'') (El), a fictional character in the TV series ''Stranger Things'' * El, fami ...

'' by

, and Osvaldo Golijov's highly acclaimed

chamber opera Chamber opera is a designation for operas written to be performed with a Chamber music, chamber ensemble rather than a full orchestra. Early 20th-century operas of this type include Paul Hindemith's ''Cardillac'' (1926). Earlier small-scale operas ...

'' Ainadamar'' and

song cycle A song cycle () is a group, or cycle (music), cycle, of individually complete Art song, songs designed to be performed in sequence, as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online'' The songs are either for solo voice or an ensemble, or rarely a combinat ...

''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 and 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 ...

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's ...

. 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. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

and Mrs. Clinton on the NBC special ''Christmas in Washington''. The

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

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, moveme ...

. 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 ...

over many years led to a 1997 recording of

Claude Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

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. Richard Goode and Margo Garrett are also long-standing partners. She has worked with director Peter Sellars many times, including on his staging of Händel's ''Theodora'' at Glyndebourne, his

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

production of Stravinsky's '' The Rake's Progress''—as part of the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. The orchestra holds a regular concert season from October until June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from ...

and

's month-long residency at the Théâtre du Châtelet, 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 () is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer, for five weeks starting in late July, in Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart's operas are a focus of ...

production of

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithology, ornithologist. One of the major composers of the 20th-century classical music, 20th century, he was also an ou ...

's '' Saint François d'Assise'' (1998). Upshaw has often performed as a soloist at the annual Ojai Music Festival 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 George Henry Crumb Jr. (24 October 1929 – 6 February 2022) was an American composer of avant-garde contemporary classical music. Early in his life he rejected the widespread modernist usage of serialism, developing a highly personal musical ...

's work ''Winds of Destiny''. She joined the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra as artistic partner beginning with the 2007–08 season. In 2006, she founded the Graduate Vocal Arts Program at Bard College Conservatory in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, serving as artistic director until 2019, when she was succeeded by Stephanie Blythe. She currently serves as head of the Vocal Arts Program at Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox, Massachusetts. Upshaw holds honorary doctorates of arts from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, the

, and Allegheny College. 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 hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a barbershop or the barber's. Barbershops have been noted places of social interaction and public discourse ...

, Menotti, Harbison, Stravinsky)'' 1991 Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Soloist * ''The Girl with Orange Lips'' ( Falla, Ravel, etc.) 2003 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance * The Kronos Quartet & Dawn Upshaw for '' Berg: Lyric Suite'' 2006 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording * The Atlanta Symphony and chorus with Dawn Upshaw for '' Golijov: Ainadamar (Fountain of Tears)'' 2007

2014 Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Soloist * '' Winter Morning Walks'' ('' Maria Schneider'')

Selected discography

* 1990: Marc-Antoine Charpentier: ''

Te deum The ( or , ; from its incipit, ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to a date before AD 500, but perhaps with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin ...

'' H.146, ''Magnificat'' H.74, Kurt Moll, bass, John Aler, tenor, Dawn Upshaw, soprano, Ethna Robinson, contralto, Ann Muray, soprano and contralto, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, conducted by Neville Marriner. 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: '' Symphony No. 3'', Nonesuch/Elektra Records CD, 79282 * 2005: '' James Levine's 25th Anniversary Metropolitan Opera Gala'' (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 1960 births Living people American operatic sopranos 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