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The American mezzo-soprano, Janna Elesia Critz, obtained her Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Furman University (2008-2011), where she was Library Research Assistant (August 2009-May 2011). She holds a double master’s degree in early music (2010-2013) and vocal performance (August 2013-May 2014) from the Peabody Conservatory of Music. She was the winner of The Biannual Bethlehem Bach Vocal Competition in 2014. In 2015, she was one of four recipients of the Virginia Best Adams Fellowship with the Carmel Bach Festival, and a joint recipient of the 2015 American Prize in Chamber Music with vocal ensemble, New Consort. She is also Certified Yoga Instructor at CorePower Yoga (since February 2019).
Janna Critz is a rising artist in the early music, operatic, and concert arena, and is acclaimed for having “summoned up sonorities that were rich, warm, dark, and comforting” (San Francisco Examiner) and for her “elegance of technique” and “vivid vocalism” (Baltimore Sun). With her specialization in Baroque repertoire, she has been recognized for her versatility of style and subtle nuance. She has already begun to establish her skill in Baroque performance practice. In January of 2014 she founded Bel pianto, a Baroque ensemble that presents Italian, French, and German vocal music from the early 17th- to mid-18th centuries. For two consecutive years, she has been a featured soloist with the American Bach Soloists Festival & Academy performing works such as J.S. Bach’s Mass in B Minor (BWV 232), Alessandro Scarlatti’s Marc’Antonio e Cleopatra, and Heinrich Biber’s Missa Salisburgensis. Most recent performances include the Antonio Vivaldi's Magnificat, The Sorceress from Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, and selected works by Claudio Monteverdi featuring Lamento della Ninfa and Presso un fiume tranquillo. In 2013 she made her solo debut with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra in their production of W.A. Mozart’s Requiem, and in 2012 was the alto soloist for Voices of Light, a modern oratorio, by Richard Einhorn with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Marin Alsop. She appears regularly as a soloist with groups like Mountainside Baroque, performing works like Beggar’s Opera (Cumberland Theatre, 2016). She also appears with the Bach Choir of Bethlehem (since 2014).
Janna Critz has also been Alto at St. David's Episcopal Church in Baltimore (August 2011-June 2014); Alto Section Leader at Baltimore Choral Arts Society (September 2015-October 2019); Alto at Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C. (since 2014); Alto at The Thirteen Washington D.C. (since 2017; The Thirteen is a world-class professional choral ensemble of vocal and instrumental artists. The ensemble specializes in compelling repertoire from the Renaissance to premieres by contemporary composers. While the ensemble calls Washington, DC home, The Thirteen's concerts, recordings, and educational outreach extend throughout the USA and abroad); Alto at Bridge in Washington D.C. (since June 2019; Bridge examines the issues of our time by illuminating connections between historic and contemporary music, unifying established audiences with the next generation of concertgoers); Mezzo-soprano at American Baroque Opera Co. in Dallas, Texas (since 2019). |
