Ann Moss
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ARTIST BIO (scroll down for teacher bio)
Soprano Ann Moss enjoys an active career in both her hometown of Boston and her new Bay Area home. She holds a Post Graduate Degree in Voice from San Francisco Conservatory of Music (2005), a Master of Music in Voice from Longy School of Music (2002), and a Bachelor of Arts from Hampshire College (1999). Her stage roles include Blonde (Die Entfuhrung aus dem Seraglio, Berkeley Opera) Nannetta (Falstaff, Berkeley Opera), Despina Cosi fan tutte, UMASS Opera Theater), Patience (Valley Light Opera) and Dew Fairy (Hansel and Gretel, SFCM Opera Theater). She has performed in Master Classes with Jose Van Dam, Nathan Gunn, Graham Johnson, Martin Katz, Jake Heggie, John Harbison, Craig Smith, and Barbara Kilduff, among others. Ann resides and teaches in Richmond, studies with Sheri Greenawald, and coaches with Steven Bailey.
Blondie and Pedrillo (Brian Thorsett) With pianist Mockingbird Vocal Quartet
in Mozart's Abduction from the Seraglio Steve Bailey
Recognized as a champion of contemporary vocal music, Ms. Moss is frequently sought out by composers to co-create new works, and takes immense pleasure in the construction of first performances. She has collaborated with acclaimed composers Jake Heggie, John Harbison, Aaron Jay Kernis, Eric Sawyer, and Vartan Aghababian, as well as with emerging artists JooWan Kim, Liam Wade, Erik Jekabson, Heather Gilligan and Ruth Huber. Recent engagements include the premiere of Pulitzer winner Wayne Peterson's Freedom and Love for Soprano and Percussion with Earplay, an encore performance at the Sacramento Festival of New Music, and a presentation of Pulitzer winner Aaron Jay Kernis' song cycle Two Awakenings and a Double Lullaby (2006) with Axel Strauss, David Tannenbaum, and the composer at the piano.
In February 2008, Ann presents an evening of new American chamber music for soprano, string quartet, harp and piano by Boston and Bay Area composers at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. The program, which features the Yeager String Quartet, Kristal Schwartz, and Steve Bailey, includes four works written specifically for Ann by Boston and Bay Area composers. In March, she performs Samuel Barber's 3 Songs (1974) and solos in John Rutter's Requiem with pianist and conductor Martin Morley, two recent compositions of Dieter Schnebel at Other Minds Festival 13, and a work by Erik Jekabson at the Switchboard Music Festival. April finds her taking a step back in time to perform Schubert's second-to-last art song, Der Hirt auf dem Felsen, with TRIAD artists Carey Bell and Bryndon Hassman at Noe Valley Chamber Music. In May she will join Berkeley Opera to sing three roles in their production of Ravel's 1925 opera, L'enfant et les sortilèges.
In the spring of 2006 Ann joined Eric Sawyer at UC Berkeley's CNMAT for the world premiere of Itasca, a work combining music, electronics, movement and spoken word. The evening's program included the west coast premiere of his Vocalise for soprano and electronics; a repeat performance of both works took place at Amherst College the following fall. Contemporary music projects in 2007 included a program of new vocal chamber music collaboration with the Ives String Quartet and Mockingbird Vocal Quartet, SF Song Festival's Hook Line and Singer II program, and a program of new music for voices and jazz ensemble with the Eric Jekabson Vista Nonet. Ann was also privileged to perform John Thow's song cycle On Love at a memorial concert commemorating the life and works of the composer.
Ann holds a special interest in song recital design and performance. She won three first place titles in the 2005 San Francisco American Art Song Competition, first prize in two divisions of the 2005 California NATS Singing Festival, was a district finalist in the 2006 California NATS Artists Awards Competition, and took second place in the 2004 New England NATSAA Competition. In 2003, she co-founded Boston Art Song Collective (BASC), which continues to showcase innovative concert programming for diverse audiences.
Recent soloist appearances in concert include Bach Magnificat, Fauré Requiem, Handel Messiah, Mendelssohn Lauda Sion, and Rutter Requiem in Boston, and Hindemith Die Serenaden, Bach St. Matthew Passion and Strauss Brentano Lieder in San Francisco. She holds a Post Graduate Degree in Voice from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, a Master of Music Degree in Voice from Longy School of Music, and a Bachelor of Arts from Hampshire College. She attended the internationally renowned Songfest program for two consecutive years.
VOICE TEACHER BIO
31 year old vocalist Ann Moss has been teaching voice for 9 years, first in Boston and currently in the Bay Area. Since moving to Berkeley in 2004, Ann has become a much sought-out vocal instructor among singers of all ages and experience levels. She holds two graduate-level degrees in Vocal Performance from prestigious institutions, and is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. She has extensive performance experience in all areas of classical singing, and has had the honor of working with many of todays best teachers and musicians in master class and private studio settings. In addition to her career as a classical vocalist, Ann has performed and recorded over the years in various genres of popular music, including funk, folk-rock, and r&b.
Ann's students display a wide range of vocal backgrounds, experiences and goals. Upon moving to Berkeley in 2004, she widened the scope of her teaching to include pop, folk, bluegrass, rock, and even heavy metal singers, as well as classical and music-theater singers. She has become well-known among the vast population of singer-songwriters in the Bay Area as a great source of vocal knowledge and coaching ability. Ann enjoys this sort of work immensely, and feels that it informs all levels of her teaching and artistry. "While my first love is working with classical singers, I feel that as the complex landscape of vocal music develops, it is in our best interest as music educators to remain in touch with the changing scenery."
A few words about teaching style: Ann approaches each student as an individual and works with them to come up with a lesson format that best suits their needs. She is not a proponent of a particular method, but rather chooses to draw from years of experiences as a student, vocalist and listener. These include classic Italianate vocalizes and breath techniques, vocal training in the Oren Brown school, voice and speech therapy work at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, the full-year course in vocal pedagogy as taught at the Longy School of Music, and many years of trial and error teaching students of various musical backgrounds.
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