RACHEL CALLOWAY : MEZZO-SOPRANO

Praised by the New York Times for her “considerable depth of expression… and superb accounts” and by the Pittsburgh Post – Gazette for her “emotional characterizations and sumptuous voice… and remarkable sensitivity,” mezzo-soprano Rachel Calloway his quickly establishing herself as one of the foremost mezzo-sopranos of her generation.  This summer, she will reprise the role of “Mrs. Grose” in the Turn of the Screw with Lorin Maazel and the Castleton Festival, with whom she has also appeared as “Mrs. Herring” in Albert Herring.  In 2010 – 2011 she makes her Berkeley Symphony debut under Joana Carneiro, her CalArts debut with Lorin Maazel and the Castleton Festival, and appears in concert at Cornell Univeristy, the Strathmore Mansion in Washinton D.C., the KCMS Festival in Ontario, Depauw University, and in Philadelphia in the Bang on a Can Marathon.  Ms. Calloway has also appeared with Glimmerglass Opera, Tulsa Opera, Central City Opera, and Gotham Chamber Opera.  In January, she performed the role of “Lisetta” in Haydn’s Il Mondo della Luna with Gotham Chamber Opera in New York’s Hayden Planetarium.  Her operatic roles include “Madame de Croissy” in Les Dialogues des Carmélites, “Nancy” in Albert Herring, “Dinah” in Trouble in Tahiti, “Angelina” in La Cenerentola,” “Luisa” in Luisa Fernanda, and “Dido” in Dido and Aeneas.  As an oratorio soloist, she has performed the Mozart Requiem as well as Bach’s St. John Passion for Classical Action: Performing Arts Against Aids.  An avid recitalist and concert singer, Ms. Calloway has appeared at Steinway Hall, the Miller Theater, the Bulgarian Consulate, Merkin Hall, the Chautauqua Institution, Alice Tully Hall, Glimmerglass Opera, and the Academy of Music (Philadelphia).

A proponent of contemporary and lesser-known music, Ms. Calloway gave the world world premiere of New Andean Songs by Gabriela Lena Frank with the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s new music series, Green Umbrella, at Walt Disney Concert Hall.  This spring she sang Harrison Birtwhistle’s Corridor in Merkin Hall, as well as the world premiere of a piece by Nico Muhly, both with the Signal Ensemble.  She has performed Pierrot Lunaire at Alice Tully Hall, Columbia University, and the Juilliard School, and has also performed in the FOCUS! Festival of New Music.  Last February she sang the world premier of Steven Stucky’s orchestrated Spanisches Liederbuch (Wolf) as a guest artist at Manhattan School of Music.  Ms. Calloway has premiered countless works at the Bang on a Can Festival, the Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, Cornell University, MIT, Tufts University, and Temple University.  She has collaborated with many of today’s prominent contemporary music ensembles, including Signal, Ensemble X, Continuum, and Sequitur.  Last year Ms. Calloway sang the world premiere of Jay Scheib and Anthony Gatto’s multimedia opera, The Making of Americans, at the Walker Arts Center in Minneapolis.  She also appeared at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater with the Biava Quartet under the auspices of Pro Musica Hebraica and this spring sings with the Pittsburgh Jewish Music Festival.  Ms. Calloway is a founding member of Shir Ami, an ensemble dedicated to the preservation and performance of Jewish art music suppressed by the Nazis and Soviets.  She is also a member of In Flux, a recently formed ensemble committed to performing vocal chamber music by the leading composers of today and the recent past.

Ms. Calloway was a United States Presidential Scholar in the Arts and has also received awards from the Metropolitan Opera National Council, first prize in the Arts Recognition and Talent Search sponsored by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, and two Central City Opera Young Artist Awards.  As winner of the Eisenberg-Fried Concerto Competition, Ms. Calloway performed Ravel’s Shéhérazade with the Manhattan School of Music Symphony, conducted by George Manahan.  A native of Philadelphia, Ms.Calloway holds degrees from both The Juilliard School (BM) and Manhattan School of Music (MM) and maintains an active teaching studio.