Tracey Engleman
With a voice the Boston Globe called “extraordinary in range, tonal quality, musicianship and dramatic effect,” soprano Tracey Engleman has gained a reputation for excellence in opera, recital and concert. As a frequent performer in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, she has received rave reviews for her operatic work. The St. Paul Pioneer Press wrote that Ms. Engleman’s “clear, powerful high notes unleash all the desired adrenalin and misty romanticism the score demands,” and The Wall Street Journal has written that she sings with “crystalline purity.” In 2010, Ms. Engleman premiered the role of Isabella Smith in The Ladysmith Story, a contemporary opera by Minnesota composer Christopher Gable. Recent roles also include the role of Julie in The New Moon with Music by the Lake, Kathy in The Student Prince with Skylark Opera, Ofglen in The Handmaid’s Tale, the Page in Rigoletto and the Girl in the Bed in Casanova’s Homecoming with the Minnesota Opera, the School Teacher in Ainadamar with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Adina in L’elisir d’amore and Norina in Don Pasquale with the Rochester Aria Group, and Elivira in I puritani with Minnesota Concert Opera. Particularly gifted as a performer of contemporary music, Ms. Engleman has performed Two Poems from the Sung Dynasty with conductor and composer Bright Sheng with the Chicago Chamber Musicians and at the Festival of Contemporary Music at the Tanglewood Music Center. Recently, Ms. Engleman premiered Minnesota composer Libby Larsen’s new orchestral version of Sonnets from the Portuguese with the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra.
Highlights from Ms. Engleman’s oratorio performances include Orff’s Carmina burana with Rochester Choral Arts, Orff’s Catulli carmina, Poulenc’s Gloria and Vaughan Williams’ Hodie with the Milwaukee Bel Canto Chorus, numerous appearances with the Valley Chamber Chorale including performances of Rutter’s Mass of the Children, Bach’s Easter Oratorio, Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb, Mozart’s Exultate, Jubilate, Coronation Mass, Solemn Vespers, and Regina Coeli, Poulenc’s Gloria with the Minnesota Choral Union and Symphony and the Gorecki Symphony No. 3 with the Cannon Valley Orchestra. As a member of the voice faculty at St. Olaf College, Ms. Engleman has performed the soprano solos in the Brahms Requiem, Mendelssohn’s Psalm 42 and Elijah, Barber’s Prayers of Kierkegaard and Britten’s War Requiem with the St. Olaf Choirs and Orchestra, as well as appearing with the St. Olaf Orchestra in Alice Tully Hall in New York City singing the songs of Edvard Grieg. A frequent recitalist, Ms. Engleman has sung many Courtroom Concerts for The Schubert Club in St. Paul, been a featured recitalist for the National Association of Teachers of Singing National Convention, has been a guest recitalist at Hope College in Holland Michigan and performed Messiaen’s Poemes Pour Mi at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis.
Tracey Engleman spent two years as a Vocal Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center and was also one of ten singer/pianist teams from around the country selected to participate in the Art Song Festival at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Other Awards include first place and “Audience Choice” winner in the Austin Lyric Opera Young Artist Competition, finalist in the Sun Valley Opera Competition, a regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, recipient of the Minnesota NATS Artist Award, first place winner of the Milwaukee Bel Canto Chorus Regional Artist Competition and first place winner of the Kenwood Chamber Orchestra Concerto Competition. Ms. Engleman earned M.M. and D.M.A. degrees from the University of Minnesota, and is currently an Assistant Professor of Music at St. Olaf College, where she teaches voice, vocal pedagogy and vocal solo literature.