Amy Owens

Amy Owens is a multi-disciplinary artist, pushing the boundaries of the classical genre and specializing in contemporary music, concert work, and coloratura repertoire. She began the 2018-2019 season at Santa Fe Opera, covering the role of Cunegonde in Candide, and later performed the same role with the Utah Symphony to great acclaim: ?Owens showed the vocal brilliance to pull off the demands of her role. She sang her high notes effortlessly and gave a stunning rendition of the showstopper ?Glitter and be Gay.? She also showed remarkable acting talent, playing up the sassiness of her role wonderfully? (Utah Arts Review). Other Bernstein Centennial concert appearances include debuts at the Westport Library, Del Valle Chamber Arts Society, Dartmouth College, and the Library of Congress, where her comedic abilities were at the fore: ?Amy Owens was marvelous in the show-stealer ?Glitter and Be Gay,? cracking up not only the audience, but the other singers on stage.? (Anne Midgette, Washington Post). Her new album of Bernstein?s vocal music will be released in April 2019. This season also sees Owens? return to her signature role in Carmina Burana with the Mobile Symphony, which she has previously sung with the National Symphony Orchestra, Virginia Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Omaha Symphony, Mid- America Productions at Carnegie Hall, and New Mexico Philharmonic. Other notable concert appearances this season include her debut with Lubbock Symphony and a return to Virginia Symphony in Messiah, a recital with the George London Foundation, and a return to the New York Festival of Song at Merkin Hall. She returns to opera with Houston Grand Opera?s world premiere of The Phoenix. This Fall she attended the Hart Institute of Women Conductors at Dallas Opera as an auditing conductor. As a producer and songwriter, Amy has developed a project of original music through her album HAETHOR along with several music videos. The video for her single ?Discreet? was featured on BroadwayWorld.com, which noted ?Owens brings rebellious fun to a traditionally strict musical world.? Amy is quickly establishing herself as a favorite for 20th and 21st-century music, known for her pin-point accuracy and quick learning. For her portrayal of Florestine in the U.S. premiere of La m re coupable with On Site Opera, she was praised for her ?impressive accuracy and thrilling high notes.? (B Hodges, Musical America) and ?gleaming coloratura? (R. Sasanow, Broadway World) rendering her the ?cast standout? (S. Evans, Bachtrack). She created the role of Wilhelmina in David Hanlon?s children?s opera Listen! Wilhelmina at Wolf Trap and developed the role of Little Stone in the Lincoln Center Theater/ Metropolitan Opera Workshop for Matthew Aucoin?s new opera Eurydice. She is a frequent performer on NYFOS next series, where she has collaborated with Bright Sheng, William Bolcom, Gabriela Frank, and Daniel Sabzghabaei, recorded Bowles?s Picnic Cantata, and participated in the Intimacy of Creativity Festival in Hong Kong. Other contemporary operatic roles include Florestine in Corgliano?s Ghosts of Versailles and Lucia in Rape of Lucretia at Wolf Trap Opera. In the traditional operatic repertoire, Amy is a trusty interpreter of a wide variety of roles including Despina in Cos fan tutte (Opera Naples), Oscar in Ballo in Maschera (Livermore Valley Opera), and Blondchen in Die Entf hrung aus dem Serail, where her performances with Utah Opera were noted in Opera News: ?Owens's lyric soprano was as uninhibited and pointed as her character. Throughout the aria "Durch Z rtlichkeit und Schmeicheln," she negotiated runs cleanly with open top notes and trills that matched her sparkling wit.? The Salt Lake Tribune applauded her for ?abundant charm and solid technique.? She has performed as the soloist in Mahler 4 with the Omaha Symphony and recorded Mahler 8 with the Utah Symphony as Mater Gloriosa. Ms. Owens has completed young artist residencies with Santa Fe Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Utah Opera, and Central City Opera. She is a winner of the Sullivan Foundation grand prize and multiple awards from the George London Foundation. She holds a B.M. from Brigham Young University and a M.M. from Rice University in Vocal Performance.