The American soprano, arts adminstrator and educator, Paulina Francisco, obtained her Bachelor of Arts degrees in Vocal Performance and Public Relations from Carroll University (2011-2015); her Master of Arts in Early Music from the University of Southern California (2015-2017); her a Graduate Certificate in Vocology from Indiana University in Bloomington. She is in the final stages of completing a Doctor of Music in Historical Performance at Indiana University (since 2017; expecting graduation in 2021), during which she served a Associate Instructor in Early Music Voice (since 2018) and completed minor specializations in Musicology and Vocology. In 2018, she was the recipient of Bourbon Baroque’s Nicholas Fortin Summer Workshop Scholarship. She has studied voice with Julia Bentley, Judith Malafronte, Steven Rickards, Brian Gill, Lynn Helding, Rachelle Fox, and Thomas Weis.
Paulina Francisco is active as a freelance soprano singer since June 2011. She is a versatile singer and interpreter of early music. She has been a featured soloist with Bourbon Baroque, Indy Baroque, Alchymy Viols, American Bach Soloists Academy, Bloomington Bach Cantata Project, and Los Angeles Camerata. Most recently she performed as soloist and ensemble member in George Frideric Handel’s Messiah with Bourbon Baroque, the role of Calliope in G.F. Handel’s serenata Parnasso in Festa under the direction of Jeffrey Thomas, J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion (BWV 245) directed by John Butt, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater led by Stanley Ritchie, and served as music director for BWV 49 and BWV 28 with the Bloomington Bach Cantata Project. She is a founding member of Las Aves, an ensemble that specializes in 17th century and early Baroque chamber music. With Las Aves, she has performed at the International Sacred Music Festival in Quito, Ecuador and the Bloomington Early Music Festival.
Paulina Francisco is passionate about building stronger connections between research and performance; she has performed new research presentations for Robert Ketterer (University of Iowa), Donald Burrows (The Open University), Ayana Smith (Indiana University) and Michael Bane (Indiana University). Her own research is centered on 17th century virtuosic repertoire for soprano, early voice training, the education of early modern women, and sacred monody. Her Master’s thesis “The Virtuosi of Ferrara: The Concerto delle Donna 1580-1601”, including a modern edition of Luzzasco Luzzaschi’s Madrigali (1601), is available on ProQuest.
In addition to performing, Paulina Francisco is an active arts administrator; she currently serves as General Manager of the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra (since April 2021) and General Manager of Bloomington Early Music (since August 2018), in addition to working seasonally for Early Music America and the San Francisco Early Music Society (since July 2019). As an educator she has taught private voice, coached early music repertoire, developed a music appreciation curriculum focused on encouraging the next generation of music patrons and leaders, led ensemble rehearsals and presented several music outreach programs at elementary schools in Southern Indiana. |