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The American mezzo-soprano, Clare McNamara, obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from Princeton University (2001-2006); and her Master of Music degree in Early Music Performance from Longy School of Music of Bard College (2011-2013).
“Otherworldly” mezzo-soprano Clare McNamara brings her versatility to a wide variety of early and new repertoire throughout the USA and abroad. She has maintained affiliations with groups such as Skylark, Emmanuel Music (Director: Ryan Turner), Cut Circle, Lorelei Ensemble, Washington Bach Consort (Director: J. Reilly Lewis), Tapestry, Blue Heron, the Staunton Music Festival, and The Boston Camerata.
A member of the Handel and Haydn Society chorus since 2014, Clare McNamara has appeared as alto soloist in J.S. Bach's Mass in B Minor (BWV 232) and his Missa brevis in G major, BWV 236 (Harry Christophers), where she was praised for her “rich timbre and expressive phrasing” and was labeled a “vocal highlight” (Boston Classical Review). Her “astonishing” voice is featured in the 2020 “pathbreaking” release of Cut Circle’s compendium of the works of Johannes Ockeghem (Gramophone Magazine); she also joined the group for numerous European festival performances. She was hailed as “pure-toned” and “as good as they come” (MusicWeb International) for her solo Hildegard chant on the Skylark album “Seven” (2018), one of four GRAMMY nominations for the ensemble. She appears on eight other albums with Skylark, including as a credited soloist in “Clear Voices in the Dark,” the first USA recording of Francis Poulenc's tour-de-force Figure Humaine (2024, GRAMMY nominated). During her nine years with Lorelei, she collaborated with A Far Cry and the Boston Symphony Orchestra/Andris Nelsons (Symphony Hall, Tanglewood, and Carnegie Hall). She joined Emmanuel Music for Bachfest Leipzig, Germany, in June 2024. As a regular member of the Emmanuel Music roster, she is honing her craft as a J.S. Bach interpreter.
In January, 2021, Clare McNamara appeared as a soloist for the United Nations’ Chamber Music Society’s concert for the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, globally broadcast online. Other online concerts have included pandemic-tide digital music creation: a vocal recital with her husband Ian Garvie (piano), a program of women’s trios for Skylark’s digital subscription platform, Skylark+, and a concert of early 3-voice repertoire with new ensemble Ourania presented by Boston's SoHIP. |
