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Biography of Amanda Grooms
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| American soprano, Amanda Grooms, has been described as having a "flexible voice of considerable warmth and power" with "clear and effortless high notes." In a recent performance, reviewed as "a living, breathing advertisement for the necessity for live musical performances," she was also heralded for her "versatile singing ability" and "capabilities as an actress."
Ms. Grooms' 2014-2015 season includes two performances of Verdi's Requiem with the Brattleboro Concert Choir, as well as a reprise of Ariadne in Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos with the Kingwood Opera; a role she debuted earlier in 2014. Other roles with Kingwood Opera include Mimì in La bohéme, Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana, and Micaëla in Carmen. She first sang the role of Micaëla in Aspen under the baton of Julius Rudel, who also conducted her first Violetta in La Traviata with the Aspen Music Festival. In 2009, she attained her Master's Degree from Rice University where she sang the roles of Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Adina in L'elisir d'amore, and Armida in Handel's Rinaldo. Other operatic roles include Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte with Opera Vivente, Giannetta in L'elisir d'amore with Opera Birmingham, the title role in Mozart's Zaïde in the Midwest premier of his unfinished opera with the Milwaukee Opera Theatre, and the Mother in Amahl & the Night Vistors with Midwest Lyric Opera. In 2005, Ms. Grooms was a studio artist with Sarasota Opera where she sang Ellen in Delibes' Lakmé and covered Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, and was an apprentice artist the previous season where she covered the role of Königen der Nacht in Die Zauberflöte. Ms. Grooms was a member of the 2004 and 2005 Gerdine Young Artist Program with Opera Theatre Saint Louis, was an inaugural member of their opera outreach program "Opera on the Go," and appeared with OTSL singing in their 30th Anniversary Opera Gala.
Ms. Grooms has made concert appearances in Salzburg, Vienna, Milan, Chicago, Aspen, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Washington D.C., West Palm Beach, Milwaukee, and Saint Louis. Since winning first place in the Mid-Texas Symphony Young Artist Competition in 2009, she has been featured as their guest soloist in holiday concerts, sang the soprano solos in Handel's Messiah, and most recently performed Strauss' Vier letzte Lieder with the symphony. Ms. Grooms has also appeared as the soprano soloist in Orff's Carmina Burana, Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem and Neus Liebeslieder, and Vaughn Williams' Serenade to Music. She has sung at the famed Sheldon Concert Hall in Saint Louis with members of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra for Mozart's 250th Anniversary Celebration, and appeared several times in their Notes from Home series. Ms. Grooms has performed numerous works by new composers, including two world premieres, most notably the American Premiere of celebrated Italian composer Matteo D'Amico's Stabat Mater hosted by Rice University and the Italian Consulate of Houston.
Ms. Grooms is the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships. She most recently placed 1st in the National Lois Alba Aria Competition and was asked back to be their guest artist for the 2011 Grand Finals Concert. Ms. Grooms has been a National Finalist in the 2007 and 2009 Palm Beach Opera Competition, a grant winner from The Anna Sosenko Assist Trust 2009, won 2nd place in the Young Patronesses of the Opera 2007 Vocal Competition, a winner of the 2006 Aspen Vocal Concerto Competition where she performed in concert with the Aspen Sinfonia Orchestra, was awarded the 2006 Encouragement Prize from the Sullivan Foundation, and was named the 2006 Top Prize Scholarship Recipient from the Arleen Auger Memorial Fund. She has been a winner of the Saint Louis District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions on three different occasions, taking 2nd Place at the Regional Finals in 2003 and 2006.
Ms. Grooms graduated in 2001 with her Bachelor's Degree in Vocal Performance from DePauw University. During her undergraduate studies, she lived a year abroad in Milan, Italy, and returned after graduation to sing the Countess in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro with the Rossini Festival Orchestra. Ms. Grooms has since returned to study advanced Italian at both the Scuola di Lorenzo de Medici and Centro Studi Italiani. She has studied French with the Alliance Française, German with the Goethe House, and further German studies with the Internationale Sommerakademie Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria.
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