Julianne Baird, soprano

Julianne Baird, soprano, has been hailed as "one of the most extraordinary voices in the service of early music that this generation has produced. She possesses a natural musicianship which engenders singing of supreme expressive beauty" (New York Times). She maintains a busy concert schedule of solo recitals and performances of baroque opera and oratorio.

Ms. Baird has also appeared as soloist with many major symphony orchestras including the Cleveland Orchestra under Christoph von Dohnanyi, the Brooklyn Philharmonic under Lukas Foss, the New York Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta and, the Philadelphia Orchestra. Her seasonal New York City performances as soprano soloist in Handel's Messiah continued in 2009 with Musica Sacra in Carnegie Hall, and have consistently won praise from the New York Times. James R. Oestreich, in his comprehensive survey of New York performances of Handel's Messiah recently concluded with special praise for Julianne Baird's interpretative skills: "in that respect, Ms. Baird remains the model." Most recently Anthony Tommasini wrote: "She is an admired exponent of early music and sang with focused sound and grace."(New York Times, Dec 2009).

Julianne Baird's performances include appearances at the International Lufthansa Festival in London in solo cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach and at Tanglewood's Ozawa Hall in the Mozart Requiem, Bach's Magnificat in Bach's own Thomaskirche in Leipzig, and at the International Wroclaw Festival of Song in Warsaw. With over 130 solo recordings to her credit on Decca, Deutsche Gramophone, Newport Classics and Dorian, Julianne Baird is considered one of America's most recorded women. In addition to her major roles in the acclaimed series of Handel operatic and oratorio CD premieres, she has recently sung leading roles in a series of Gluck Operas CDs. The New York Philharmonic's box set commemorating it's century of recordings includes her recording of Reich's "Tehillim." Other recordings include "Dance on a Moonbeam", featuring Julianne Baird and Meryl Streep. For her recent recording of "Flaming Rose" (Neun Deutsche Arien) the London Sunday Times had the following: "Baird - a fine American soprano prized for her outstanding contribution to recordings of Handel operas sings with a delicate timbre - the singing is exquisitely stylish."

Julianne Baird is recognized nationally as one whose virtuosic vocal style is firmly rooted in scholarship, with degrees from the Eastman School and a Diploma from the Salzburg Mozarteum in performance. She also earned a PhD in music history from Stanford University. Her publications include "Introduction to the Art of Singing", from Cambridge University Press now in its 3rd printing is used by singers and professional schools internationally. Recognized internationally as one of the few who can both demonstrate the full range of the singer's art and explain it - Dr. Baird is regularly asked to provide master classes at universities and music schools throughout North America. She also reaches large audiences through regional and national broadcasts including a series of recent "Performance Today" National Broadcast s of Handel's Deutsche Arien which she performed with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Handel, in 2008, The New York Times desribed her voice on that occasion as "alluring, with body, color and earthy expressivity" She is a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in Camden, New Jersey.