Dana Hanchard

Soprano

Acclaimed as a "singer of passionate virtuosity" by Time Magazine, Dana Hanchard enjoys an international career that embraces many styles and genres. Her performance in recital prompted one critic from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel to write, "Some vocalists sing, others make dramatic magic that cannot be ignored...Dana Hanchard...most assuredly falls into the latter group. She possesses that elusive ability to communicate, regardless of language, using musical phrase and nuance."

Ms. Hanchard has collaborated with many of today's most respected conductors and artists on a variety of projects and repertoire. In past seasons Ms. Hanchard has appeared as a soloist singing Mahler’s Fourth Symphony with the New World Symphony, Michael Tilson Thomas conducting; she played Nerone to Sylvia McNair's Poppea in Monteverdi’s L'Incoronazione di Poppea with John Eliot Gardiner conducting, and later Poppea to David Daniel's Nerone in the highly acclaimed Jonathan Miller production for Glimmerglass Opera. She was cast as Euridice in the Mark Morris production of Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland, Christopher Hogwood conducting. She originated the role of Gwen St. Clair in Meredith Monk's Atlas for the Houston Grand Opera, sang the role of Romilda in Handel’s Xerxes at the Role Danish Opera in Copenhagen with Reinhard Goebel conducting, and performed the role of Tigrane in Handel’s Radamisto with Nicholas McGegan conducting the Göttingen Festival Orchestra in Germany.

She performs orchestral and chamber music regularly with numerous organizations to include the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra of San Francisco, Musica Antiqua Köln, Houston Symphony, Freiburg Barockorchester, Memphis Symphony, English Baroque Soloists, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Boston Camerata, Four Nations Ensemble, Bang on a Can Festival and New York Festival of Song.

Upcoming concerts include dates at the Library of Congress in D.C., the Kaye Playhouse in New York City and various appearances around the country. This season’s highlights also include performances with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Bard Music Festival Orchestra, and a South American recital tour kicking off at the American Embassy in Quito.

As a songwriter, Dana has performed her own work at Joe’s Pub in New York City, BAMcafé at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Arts Exchange in Fort Lauderdale, and the Festival of Solitude at Exit Art Gallery in Soho, New York. Her own work is also featured in the new musical, Blackwater.

Her discography includes recordings on the Harmonia Mundi, Deutsche Grammophon/Archiv, Erato, ECM, and Lyrichord labels. This season marks the release of her debut solo album, Once Canciones (Eleven Songs) de Diego Luzuriaga on Fertile Ground Music.

Ms Hanchard attended Barnard College, Manhattan School of Music and the Juilliard School of Music, all on the island of Manhattan where she resides.