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The American soprano, Mary Bonhag, obtained her Bachelor of Music degree in Voice Performance from University of Michigan (2007); and her Master of Music degree in Vocal Arts from Bard College Conservatory (under Dawn Upshaw's mentorship; graduated: 2010). She won 1st Prize Bard College Concerto Competition (2009).
After her studies, Mary Bonhag was invited to residence at SongFest (2009), Island Vocal Arts Seminar (2019), and Tanglewood (2017, 2018). While at Tanglewood, she was honored with the Grace B. Jackson Prize (2018) and her performances of Arnold Schoenberg's String Quartet no. 2, excerpts from Lutoslawski’s Chantefleurs et Chantefables, Grieg and Sibelius songs, and David Lang’s Just were received with great acclaim. She also attended New Music on the Point (2019); and Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar (2019).
Mary Bonhag is an “extraordinary” singer (Classical Voice N. America) committed to the healing powers of song. She is both a new-music specialist and a singer deeply devoted to sacred music across the ages. She was featured on Resonant Bodies Festival, and has sung with 21st Century Consort (2019), and San Francisco Contemporary Players (2012). She recently (2019) premiered a new chamber opera by Susan Botti, River Spirits, an allegorical tale featuring Mary, Susan Botti, and Lucy Shelton. She is sought after for her impeccable musicianship and “supple expressive voice” (San Antonio News) for concert work, specializing in the sacred music of J.S. Bach.
In 2010, Mary Bonhag co-founded Scrag Mountain Music with her husband, composer/bassist Evan Premo, now in its 12th year of organizing chamber music residencies and innovative and affordable concerts around Vermont. Since COVID, she has devoted much of her personal practice and professional work to chant and recorded Wellspring: Centering Chants for Uncertain Times by Kathy Wonson Eddy. Since 2020, she has been leading Taizé chant services both online and in person.
Collaborations and relationships are central to Mary Bonhag's professional life as a singer and she enjoys close partnerships with pianist David Kaplan, Aizuri Quartet, Aeolus Quartet, Decoda, Spektral Quartet, conductor Filippo Ciabatti, and numerous composers including premiering or commissioning works by Lembit Beecher, Susan Botti, Evan Premo, Shawn Jaeger, Eliza Brown, Evan Chambers, and C. Curtis Smith.
Mary Bonhag is featured on the NPR show Performance Today and appears on Albany Records. In between travels, she lives and makes music with her family in Marshfield, Vermont amongst the pine trees and flowers. |
