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The American mezzo-soprano, Alyssa Anderson, obtained her Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance summa cum laude from the State University of New York, College at Fredonia, and her Master of Music degree in Performance summa cum laude from the University of Minnesota. She was recently awarded the Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Minnesota for her thesis on the solo vocal music of American composer Henry Cowell and a recital performance of a number of his unpublished, and virtually unknown, songs for voice and piano. She won first place in the Minnesota District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions multiple times; other awards include the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Encouragement award, the McGough Opera Award, the Ted Mann Scholarship, and the David F. Evans Performance Award.
Alyssa Anderson's vocal repertoire spans the ages from Baroque masterpieces to contemporary experimental music, with a focus on American and 20th/21st-century artsong and chamber music. While working towards her graduate degrees, she peformed numerous leading roles with the University of Minnesota's Opera Theater, including the Komponist in Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos, Giulietta in Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann, and Margaret Elliott in the Minnesota premiere of Eric Hermannson's Soul by Libby Larsen.
As a founding member of the Twin Cities based contemporary music ensemble RenegadeEnsemble, Alyssa Anderson has performed premieres of several new works for voice with the ensemble including Peter Billam's Tres Casidas del Divan del Tamarit, Ton Bruynel's Le Jardin, Zac Crockett's Dance 1, and Eric Schwartz's The Owl and the Pussycat. In her fourth year with The Rose Ensemble, she is thrilled to explore early music and performing with this award-winning vocal ensemble. 2018-2019 also marks her first season performing with The Mirandola Ensemble and her third with Consortium Carissimi.
Notable performances include the title role in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, Stockhausen's Stimmung, and Gyorgy Ligeti's Sippal, dobbal, nadihegeduvel for mezzo-soprano and four percussionists. Alyssa Anderson has appeared as a soloist with the Minnesota Bach Ensemble, Minnesota Oratorio Society, Metamorphosis Opera Theater, Zeitgeist, Kenwood Symphony Orchestra, Bloomington Symphony Orchestra, Twin Cities Lyric Theater, RenegadeEnsemble, University of Minnesota's New Music Ensemble, University of Minnesota's Bach Festival, Jamestown Choral Society, Fredonia College Choir, and Fredonia's Festival Chorus. She has also participated as a soloist in Bach Tage Mount Olive Lutheran Church (Director: Kathy Saltzman Romey).
In 2010, Alyssa and guitarist Joseph Spoelstra formed a classical voice/guitar duo, the dream songs project. They can be heard in a number of venues in Madison, Wisconsin, the Twin Cities, and a variety of other areas in the Upper Midwest. Their debut CD of songs by Mauro Giuliani was released in 2012. Through generous grants from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council and their many donors, TDSP has commissioned and premiered ten major works for the ensemble.
Alyssa Anderson was a fiscal year 2013 recipient of an Artist Initiative grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, which was made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund. She currently resides in Minneapolis. |
