Julianne Baird

Julianne Baird (born December 10, 1952 in Statesville, North Carolina) 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.

Background

Baird grew up in Kent, Ohio, graduating from Kent's Theodore Roosevelt High School in 1970.cite web |url= http://www.kent.k12.oh.us/kcs/hof_archives.php |title= Kent City Schools Hall of Fame Archives|accessdate=2008-05-12 |format= |publisher= Kent City Schools]

She studied voice and musicology at the Eastman School of Music, a Diploma in Performance Practice from the Salzburg Mozarteum, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in music history from Stanford University.

Baird is a distinguished professor at Rutgers University and a frequent teacher of master classes 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 in Bach (especially the "B-minor Mass", the "Magnificat", and a number of cantatas) and Handel (especially "Messiah"). She has recorded a number of less well-known Handel operas (including "Deidamia", "Siroe", "Muzio", "Sosarme", and "Berenice"). Other composers in her discography include Purcell, Dowland, Monteverdi, and Telemann. Modern American composers she has sung include Lukas Foss and Steve Reich.

References