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The American mezzo-soprano, Marcia Gronewold Sly, who began studying music and theater at University of Illinois. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Creative Arts from San Francisco State University (1976-1978); her Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Music Performance from San Francisco Conservatory of Music (1978-1980); and her Master of Fine Arts degree in Music Performance and Literature from Mills College (1998-2000). While at Mills, she studied in London with soprano Jane Manning, and received a scholarship to attend West Dean College in Sussex, where she worked with Jane Manning and with composers Anthony Payne and Judith Weir. Her master’s thesis and recital focused on the use of Sprechstimme in the compositions of British composer Alison Bauld. Other important influences in her singing have included teachers Jane Randolph, Dickson Titus, and Dame Donna Peterson. She has studied repertoire with John Wustman, Blanche Thebom, and at Gunther Schuller's Festival at Sandpoint with Louis Krassner.
Marcia Gronewold Sly is a versatile artist whose repertoire ranges from the Baroque to the avant-garde. She has appeared as a soloist with organizations that include San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Ballet, Bangor Symphony, Berkeley Symphony, Oakland Symphony, and the Bay Area Women’s Philharmonic, working with such esteemed conductors as Kent Nagano, Joanne Falletta, Stewart Robertson, and William McGlaughlin. Her opera credits include the West Coast premiere of Judith Weir's King Harald’s Saga, a work for unaccompanied soprano portraying eight characters, with Marin Contemporary Opera. She has sung principal roles with Berkeley Opera, Oakland Opera, Pocket Opera, and the American Opera Festival of the Sierra.
A founding member of two vocal ensembles dedicated to contemporary music, Modus Novus and Ariel, Marcia Gronewold Sly has sung in premiere performances and recordings of numerous works, and has been featured with Composers Inc., San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, and the Kronos Quartet. As an ensemble singer, she has appeared with American Bach Soloists, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, and San Francisco Opera.
Founder and executive director of Blue Hill Bach (2011), Marcia Gronewold Sly has worked as a writer and arts administrator with organizations that include San Francisco Opera (1994-1997), Northeast Historic Film, and the Young Musicians Program of U.C. Berkeley (June 2000-January 2004). She has taught voice for University of Maine, Orono (January 2008-December 2016), the Young Musicians Program (June 2000-January 2004), and San Francisco Community Music Center, and now teaches at her private studio. She currently lives in Brooklin, Maine. |
