Kathryn Mueller
Soprano
“Kathryn Mueller took pride of place...her clear, bright coloratura projected splendidly over the full choral and instrumental forces. Her ease in the highest register and pure tone enlivened the lengthy solo in the ‘Benedictus,’ the long-breathed phrases perfectly placed.”
— South Florida Classical Review
Esmail The History of Red
American soprano Kathryn Mueller has made a mark with her “appealing stage presence of personal warmth and musicianship”, singing a wide range of repertoire from period baroque performances to world premieres of new works. In concert, her performances have included those with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; the Charlotte, Memphis, Phoenix, Tucson, New Mexico, and Winston-Salem Orchestras; American Bach Soloists, Portland Baroque Orchestra, and Santa Fe Pro Musica. Read more in biography below.
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Esmail The History of Red
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Biography
At home in repertoire from early music to new commissions, coloratura soprano Kathryn Mueller is praised for her "crystalline soaring soprano." She has sung with ensembles including Cincinnati Symphony (Mozart Mass in C Minor), ROCO (Knoxville: Summer of 1915), Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra (Reena Esmail's The History of Red), Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (Beethoven Symphony No. 9), Tucson Symphony (Messiah), and Spartanburg Philharmonic (Gliere’s Concerto for Coloratura Soprano), as well as with ensembles including the Charlotte and Memphis Symphonies, American Bach Soloists, Portland Baroque Orchestra, and Santa Fe Pro Musica.
An advocate for new music, Kathryn co-commissioned Reena Esmail’s The History of Red along with Santa Fe Pro Musica, River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, the Orlando Philharmonic, and The Knights. The History of Red was premiered in 2021 and was hailed for its "evocative sonorities, sensitivity to the changing moods of the poem, and skillfully crafted, natural-sounding text rhythms." Kathryn also gave the world premiere of Ananda Sukarlan’s song cycle Love and Variations, commissioned for her vocal-piano ensemble Swara Sonora Trio.
Kathryn turned to her musical roots in the Baroque period for her debut solo album, Love & Loss: Songs of Purcell, Bach and Handel. Released in 2020, it was praised by Early Music America for Kathryn’s “sheer beauty,” “deliberate restraint,” and “concern for the text.” She has also recorded GRAMMY-nominated albums with Seraphic Fire and True Concord and is featured as a soloist on recordings by New Trinity Baroque, the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Tucson Chamber Artists, and Seraphic Fire. Awards include an Adams Fellowship at the Carmel Bach Festival, finalist in the Oratorio Society of New York's Solo Competition, and finalist (with her soprano duo Les Sirènes) in Early Music America's Baroque Performance Competition.
Kathryn began her musical studies at 7,000' elevation in the White Mountains of Arizona. Her first professional engagement as a church choir section leader came during high school in Rhode Island. She continued her vocal studies as an undergraduate at Brown University and then earned a Masters degree in vocal performance from the University of Arizona. She is based in Raleigh, NC where she lives with her husband, NCSU choral director Nathan Leaf, and two lively young children. She belongs to Beyond Artists, a coalition of musicians who donate a percentage of their concert fees to organizations they care about. She supports the Poor People's Campaign through her performances.