Julianne Baird
Encyclopedia
Julianne Baird is an American
soprano
best known for her singing in Baroque
works, in both opera
and sacred music. She has nearly 100 recordings to her credit and is a well-traveled recitalist and soloist with major symphony orchestras. She is also a noted teacher of voice.
, graduating from Kent's Theodore Roosevelt High School in 1970.
She studied voice and musicology
at the Eastman School of Music
, earned a Diploma in Performance Practice from the Salzburg Mozarteum
, and earned a Doctor of Philosophy
degree in music history
from Stanford University
.
Baird is a distinguished professor at Rutgers University
where she directs a Madrigal Ensemble and teaches Music History, specifically Ancient Music, Renaissance Music and Baroque Music. She frequently teaches master class
es and workshops throughout the United States. She published an annotated translation of the 18th-century treatise, Introduction to the Art of Singing by Johann Friedrich Agricola
(Cambridge University Press,1995).
As a performer, she is best known for performances of music by J.S. Bach (especially the B-minor Mass
, the Magnificat
, and a number of cantatas) and G.F. Handel (especially Messiah
). She has recorded a number of less well-known Handel operas (including Deidamia
, Siroe
, Muzio Scevola
, Sosarme
, and Berenice
). She has also sung works by Henry Purcell
, John Dowland
, Claudio Monteverdi
, and Georg Telemann. Modern American composers whose music she has performed include Lukas Foss
and Steve Reich
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
best known for her singing in Baroque
Baroque music
Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...
works, in both opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
and sacred music. She has nearly 100 recordings to her credit and is a well-traveled recitalist and soloist with major symphony orchestras. She is also a noted teacher of voice.
Background
Baird grew up in Kent, OhioKent, Ohio
Kent is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the largest city in Portage County. It is located along the Cuyahoga River in Northeastern Ohio on the western edge of the county. The population was 27,906 at the 2000 United States Census and 28,904 in the 2010 Census...
, graduating from Kent's Theodore Roosevelt High School in 1970.
She studied voice and musicology
Musicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
at the Eastman School of Music
Eastman School of Music
The Eastman School of Music is a music conservatory located in Rochester, New York. The Eastman School is a professional school within the University of Rochester...
, earned a Diploma in Performance Practice from the Salzburg Mozarteum
Universität Mozarteum Salzburg
In Salzburg, the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg, the University of Music and Dramatic Arts Mozarteum Salzburg, honours the Austrian city's most famous son, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.-History:...
, and earned a Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
degree in music history
Music history
Music history, sometimes called historical musicology, is the highly diverse subfield of the broader discipline of musicology that studies the composition, performance, reception, and criticism of music over time...
from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
.
Baird is a distinguished professor at Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
where she directs a Madrigal Ensemble and teaches Music History, specifically Ancient Music, Renaissance Music and Baroque Music. She frequently teaches master class
Master class
A master class is a class given to students of a particular discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music, but also painting, drama, or any of the arts....
es and workshops throughout the United States. She published an annotated translation of the 18th-century treatise, Introduction to the Art of Singing by Johann Friedrich Agricola
Johann Friedrich Agricola
Johann Friedrich Agricola was a German composer, organist, singer, pedagogue, and writer on music. He sometimes wrote under the pseudonym Flavio Anicio Olibrio.-Biography:...
(Cambridge University Press,1995).
As a performer, she is best known for performances of music by J.S. Bach (especially the B-minor Mass
Mass in B Minor (Bach)
The Mass in B minor is a musical setting of the complete Latin Mass by Johann Sebastian Bach. The work was one of Bach's last, not completed in until 1749, the year before his death in 1750. Much of the Mass consisted of music that Bach had composed earlier: the Kyrie and Gloria sections had been...
, the Magnificat
Magnificat
The Magnificat — also known as the Song of Mary or the Canticle of Mary — is a canticle frequently sung liturgically in Christian church services. It is one of the eight most ancient Christian hymns and perhaps the earliest Marian hymn...
, and a number of cantatas) and G.F. Handel (especially Messiah
Messiah (Handel)
Messiah is an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel, with a scriptural text compiled by Charles Jennens from the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer. It was first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742, and received its London premiere nearly a year later...
). She has recorded a number of less well-known Handel operas (including Deidamia
Deidamia (opera)
Deidamia was George Frideric Handel's last Italian opera. The Italian text was by Paolo Antonio Rolli.-Performance history:The opera was first performed on 10 January 1741 at Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre, London. The opera received only three performances, at a time when the public was becoming...
, Siroe
Siroe
Siroe, re di Persia , HWV 24, is an opera in three acts by George Frideric Handel. It was his 12th opera for the Royal Academy of Music and was written for the sopranos Francesca Cuzzoni and Faustina Bordoni. The opera uses an Italian-language libretto by Nicola Francesco Haym, after Metastasio's...
, Muzio Scevola
Muzio Scevola
Muzio Scevola is an opera in three acts about Gaius Mucius Scaevola. The Italian-language libretto was by Paolo Antonio Rolli, adapted from a text by Silvio Stampiglia. The music for the first act was composed by Filippo Amadei , the second act by Giovanni Battista Bononcini, and the third by...
, Sosarme
Sosarme
Sosarme, re di Media is an opera by George Frideric Handel written for the Royal Academy of Music . The text was based on an earlier libretto by Antonio Salvi, Dionisio, Re di Portogallo , and adapted by an unknown writer. Composed in 1732, the original setting of Portugal was changed to Sardis in...
, and Berenice
Berenice (opera)
Berenice is an opera in three acts by George Frideric Handel to an Italian libretto, written in Italy in 1709 and originally entitled Berenice, regina d'Egitto , by Antonio Salvi....
). She has also sung works by Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell – 21 November 1695), was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music. Although Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music...
, John Dowland
John Dowland
John Dowland was an English Renaissance composer, singer, and lutenist. He is best known today for his melancholy songs such as "Come, heavy sleep" , "Come again", "Flow my tears", "I saw my Lady weepe" and "In darkness let me dwell", but his instrumental music has undergone a major revival, and has...
, Claudio Monteverdi
Claudio Monteverdi
Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, gambist, and singer.Monteverdi's work, often regarded as revolutionary, marked the transition from the Renaissance style of music to that of the Baroque period. He developed two individual styles of composition – the...
, and Georg Telemann. Modern American composers whose music she has performed include Lukas Foss
Lukas Foss
Lukas Foss was a German-born American composer, conductor, and pianist.-Music career:He was born Lukas Fuchs in Berlin, Germany in 1922. His father was the philosopher and scholar Martin Fuchs...
and Steve Reich
Steve Reich
Stephen Michael "Steve" Reich is an American composer who together with La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass is a pioneering composer of minimal music...
.
Sources
- Cummings, David (ed.), "Baird, Julianne", International Who's Who in Classical Music, Routledge, 2003, p. 38. ISBN 185743174X
- Gehman, Geoff, "Spotlight on Julianne Baird Soprano Can Fit Classical Music into Social Setting", Morning Call, 16 January 1999, p. A7.
- Stearns, David Patrick, "A Career Full of Incident - Julianne Baird, Baroque Soprano Extraordinaire", Philadelphia Inquirer, 19 October 2005