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Dawn Upshaw

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Dawn Upshaw is an American soprano. She was born in 1960 in Nashville and sings both opera and art song. Her repertoire runs from the Baroque to contemporary music, and that last is what makes her special. Many composers wrote for her, including Henri Dutilleux, Osvaldo Golijov and John Harbison.

Music and breakthrough

Her name was established by the recordings of 1989 and 1991. For the album Knoxville: Summer of 1915, with works by Barber, Menotti, Harbison and Stravinsky, among others, she received a Grammy for Best Classical Vocal Soloist in 1989. In 1991 she won the same award for The Girl with Orange Lips, with songs by Falla and Ravel. She also recorded operas, such as Lucio Silla in 1990 and L'elisir d'amore. In 2003 she won a Grammy together with the Kronos Quartet for Berg's Lyric Suite, and in 2006 for the recording of Golijov's opera Ainadamar. She also sang the solo part in the recording of Henryk Górecki's third symphony under David Zinman.

Influence

In 2006 Upshaw founded the vocal arts programme for singers at Bard College, of which she was artistic director until 2019. She also directs the vocal programme of the Tanglewood Music Center. She showed that a classical singer can make contemporary music the core of her work.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to a song from Knoxville: Summer of 1915. Notice how clearly she sings the text, as if she were telling a story.

Discography

Studio albums

Categories: Artists