Biography
Melanie Mitrano (soprano) has the distinction of being the first woman to receive a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the New England Conservatory in Boston. She also holds an MM in vocal performance and a BM degree from the Eastman School of Music. Dr. Mitrano has worked with many esteemed composers, including György Ligeti, Luciano Berio, Lee Hoiby and John Harbison; as well as such distinguished singers of new music as Jan DeGaetani, Bethany Beardslee and Jane Manning. Her commitment to contemporary music has found her in Manchester, England, where she gave the world premieres of selected 20th-century Lieder at the second Perspectives on Anton Bruckner conference; as well as Japan and Taiwan, premiering the choral music of Earl Kim. She was a founding member of the Boston-based Auros Group for New Music and has sung with similar groups in the New York area, including Speculum Musicae, Absolute Ensemble, Ensemble 21, The Crosstown Ensemble, The Downtown Chamber Players, and Friends & Enemies of New Music.
Dr. Mitrano has sung in conjunction with the Composers Concordance and the Guild of Composers, under whose sponsorship she made her Merkin Hall recital debut in 1996. She has premiered student and faculty compositions at Yale, NYU, Columbia University, MIT, The New School of Music, and NEC, as well as the Symposium for Arts and Technology at Connecticut College. She premiered the role of Harriett Shelley in the first complete performance of Mary Shelley, a new opera by Allan Jaffe, presented at the New York Society for Ethical Culture. She also created the role of Alice Olson in the premiere of scenes from Evan Hause’s new opera Man: Biology of a Fall.
In 2004, Dr. Mitrano won first place in the New Jersey NATS Artist Award Competition, and second place in the Joyce Dutka Arts Foundation Art Song Competition. That same season, she presented “Songs for a New Time,” a concert with composers David Eddleman and Allan Jaffe at Symphony Space, as well as a joint recital with tenor Paul Sperry at the Dance Theatre Workshop sponsored by American Opera Projects. She made her Carnegie Hall debut in May 2004, singing the songs of Tom Cipullo, with the composer at the piano. With Absolute Ensemble, she recorded the preliminary film score for a new movie entitled Perfume, directed by Tom Tykwer, and slated to star Dustin Hoffmann.
Dr. Mitrano began her teaching career at Connecticut College in New London; and from 1996-2001, served on the faculty of New Jersey City University as Coordinator of Vocal Studies. A dedicated educator and frequent clinician, she has lectured at several NJMEA state conferences, high schools, and universities, including the Mannes College of Music, Western Connecticut State University, Kutztown University, and the University of New Hampshire. Since 1999, Dr. Mitrano has been a member of the editorial board of The New Music Connoisseur, a Manhattan-based journal dedicated to the advancement of contemporary music. Her articles have been published in NMC, as well as Tempo Magazine, the MENC international edition of Spotlight on Teaching Chorus, and the NATS Journal of Singing. She is currently co-authoring a book with Paul Sperry entitled “Writing for the Classical Voice: A Reference Guide for Composers.” Her debut CD, “Songs in Transit: An American Expedition,” has just been released on Capstone records.
Publications
Spotlight on Teaching Chorus, MENC International Edition (January 2003)
“Educational Strategies for Teaching Modern Music”
The New Music Connoisseur (Volume 10, No. 2, Summer 2002)
“Writing for the Legitimate Voice: Guidelines for Composers” (Part II)
The New Music Connoisseur (Volume 10, No. 1, Spring 2002)
“Writing for the Legitimate Voice: Guidelines for Composers” (Part I)
NATS Journal of Singing (Volume 57, No. 4, March/April 2001)
“Treating Acid Reflux Disease in Professional Singers: The Surgical Option”
Tempo Magazine (Volume 53, No. 4, May 1999)
"Educational Strategies for Teaching Modern Music"
The New Music Connoisseur (Volume 7, No. 3, December 1998)
"Who's Afraid of Contemporary Music?"
