This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2007)

The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with USA and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (August 2010)

A Master of Fine Arts (MFA, M.F.A.^[1]) is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree (BFA), although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts. Coursework is primarily of an applied or performing nature with the program often culminating in a major work or performance.

Master of Fine Arts programs have generally required a bachelor's degree prior to admission, but many do not require that the undergraduate major be the same as the MFA field of study. The most important admissions requirement has often been a sample portfolio or a performance audition.

The Master of Fine Arts differs from the Master of Arts in that the MFA, while an academic program, centers around practice in the particular field, whereas programs leading to the MA are usually centers on the scholarly, academic, or critical study of the field.

In the United States, a Master of Fine Arts is seen as a terminal degree, meaning that it is considered to be the highest degree in its field. In the interest of extending the connection between creative production and continued academic research, however, some universities have established competing^{[clarification needed]} Ph.D programs in fields such as creative writing, visual arts, and theater.

See also[link]

• Bachelor of Fine Arts
• Doctor of Fine Arts
• National Association of Schools of Art and Design

References[link]

1. ^ "The M.F.A. Program in Creative Writing". Cornell University. http://www.arts.cornell.edu/english/graduate/mfa/. Retrieved January 22, 2012. 

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (January 2012)

Ralph Gibson (b. January 16, 1939, Los Angeles, California) is an American art photographer^[1] best known for his photographic books. His images often incorporate fragments with erotic and mysterious undertones, building narrative meaning through contextualization and surreal juxtaposition.

Ralph Gibson studied photography while in the US Navy and then at the San Francisco Art Institute. He began his professional career as an assistant to Dorothea Lange and went on to work with Robert Frank on two films. Gibson has maintained a lifelong fascination with books and book-making. Since the appearance in 1970 of THE SOMNAMBULIST, his work has been steadily impelled towards the printed page. To date he has produced over 40 monographs, his most current projects being "State of the Axe" published by Yale University Press in Fall of 2008 and "NUDE" by Taschen (2009). His photographs are included in over one hundred and fifty museum collections around the world, and have appeared in hundreds of exhibitions.

Gibson has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts (1973, 1975, 1986), a Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (D.A.A.D.) Exchange, Berlin (1977), a New York State Council of the Arts (C.A.P.S.) fellowship (1977), and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (1985). The Rencontres d'Arles festival presented his work in 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1989 and 1994. His book "Syntax" received a mention for the Rencontres d'Arles Book Award in 1983. He was decorated as an Officier de L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (1986) and appointed, Commandeur de L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2005) by the French government.

His awards include: Leica Medal of Excellence Award (1988), "150 Years of Photography" Award, Photographic Society of Japan (1989), a Grande Medaille de la Ville d'Arles (1994) and the Lucie Award for lifetime achievement (2008).

Gibson also received an honorary doctorate of Fine Arts from the University of Maryland (1991), and a second honorary doctorate from the Ohio Wesleyan University (1998).

He has worked exclusively with the Leica for almost 50 years.

Gibson currently lives in New York and travels frequently to Europe and Brazil.

Selected works[link]

• The Somnambulist Lustrum Press, 1970; part 1 of a trilogy
• Déjà-Vu Lustrum Press, 1973, part 2 of a trilogy
• Days at Sea Lustrum Press, 1975, part 3 of a trilogy
• Syntax (1983)
• Tropism (1987)
• L'Anonyme (1987)
• L'Histoire de France (1991), introduction by Marguerite Duras.
• State of the Axe: Guitar Masters in Photographs and Words (2008), Museum Fine Arts Houston, Foreword by Anne Wilkes Tucker; Preface by Les Paul.
• Gluggengligen: Focus Like a Pro

See also[link]

• Guggenheim Fellowship

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

This article about an American photographer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. No cleanup reason has been specified. Please help improve this article if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. (January 2012)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2012)

Lykke Li
A studio portrait of Lykke Li
Background information
Birth name	Li Lykke Timotej Svensson Zachrisson
Born	(1986-03-18) 18 March 1986 (age 26) Ystad, Skåne, Sweden
Genres	Indie pop, indie rock, dream pop, electronic, folk pop, indie folk, folktronica, indietronica, wonky pop
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Years active	2007–present
Labels	LL, Atlantic
Website	www.lykkeli.com

Lykke Li (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈlʏˌkɛ ˈliː]; born Li Lykke Timotej Svensson Zachrisson; 18 March 1986 in Ystad), is a Swedish singer-songwriter. Her music often blends elements of pop, indie rock and electronic; various instruments can also be found in her songs, including violins, synthesizers, tambourines, trumpets, saxophones and cellos.^[1] Her debut album, Youth Novels, was released in 2008.

Early life[link]

Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson was born in Ystad, Skåne; her mother is a photographer and her father, a musician, is a member of Dag Vag.^[2] The family moved to Stockholm when Zachrisson was a toddler and when she was six moved to a mountaintop in Portugal where they lived for five years. The family also spent time in Lisbon and Morocco, and winters in Nepal and India.^[2][3] She moved to the neighborhood of Bushwick, Brooklyn in New York for three months when she was 19.^[4][5][6] She returned when she was 21 to record her album.^[7]

Career[link]

Music career[link]

Performing at Paradiso, 2011

Lykke Li, modelling Levi's Curve ID Collection

Lykke had some success with the EP "Little Bit" in 2007. Stereogum named her an artist to watch in October 2007 and described her music as a mix of soul, electro and "powdered-sugar pop".^[8]

Lykke's debut album, Youth Novels, was released on LL Recordings in the Nordic region on 30 January 2008 and received a wider European release in June 2008. The album was produced by Björn Yttling of Peter Bjorn and John and Lasse Mårtén and was reportedly inspired by a previous relationship of three years.^{[citation needed]} It was released in the United States on 19 August 2008. The album was released in the UK and Ireland in June 2008, promoted by a performances of "Little Bit" on Later... with Jools Holland on 25 May 2008.

She appeared on Swedish musician Kleerup's self titled album, contributing vocals to the track "Until We Bleed". She also worked with Norwegian electronic duo Röyksopp on their 2009 album Junior, contributing vocals to "Miss It So Much" and "Were You Ever Wanted".

Lykke appeared on Last Call with Carson Daly on 18 February 2009. She covered "Knocked Up", originally recorded by Kings of Leon who had approached Lykke to cover a song of her choice, and "Gifted" in which she performs with Kanye West. Lykke performed at the 2009 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on 19 April, as well as the 2009 Lollapalooza festival on 8 August as part of the promotional tour for Youth Novels.

A remixed version of her song "I'm Good, I'm Gone" was featured in the 2009 horror film Sorority Row.

The song "Possibility" was written for the 2009 film The Twilight Saga: New Moon. Lykke had been asked to write a song to the film soundtrack but she was reluctant to commit to the project. It was after she had seen an early screening of the film that she decided she wanted to contribute to the soundtrack. The soundtrack was released on 16 October 2009.

The song "Get Some" was featured in the fifteenth episode of the first season of Hawaii Five-0 titled "Kai e'e" which aired January 23,2011. The song was also used in ABC Family's drama Pretty Little Liars in the eighteenth episode of the second season which was titled "A Kiss Before Lying" which aired January 30, 2012. It was also featured in The Vampire Diaries.

Lykke's song "Melodies and Desires" was featured in the 2010 Australian film Griff the Invisible and an edited version of "Get Some" was featured in the Catwoman trailer for the video game, Batman: Arkham City.

She collaborated with singer Kleerup on the song "Until We Bleed", which was featured on an episode of UK TV series Misfits.

Her second album Wounded Rhymes was released in 2011. The album was featured on several lists of 2011's best albums, including Q, Mojo, The Observer, The New York Times, The Huffington Post and Rolling Stone.^[9]

On 30 April 2011, she performed on Later... with Jools Holland in the UK, playing "Get Some", "Sadness Is a Blessing" and "I Follow Rivers". Lykke played at the 2011 Latitude Festival, held between 14 and 18 July 2011 at Henham Park in Suffolk, England. She appeared with her band on US late night talk show The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in August 2011 and on The Late Show with David Letterman in November 2011.

The Magician remix version of "I Follow Rivers" is featured in Jacques Audiard's 2012 film De rouille et d'os in competition at the Cannes festival.

Model career[link]

In September 2010, she was announced as the official face of the Levi's Curve ID Collection, alongside Pixie Geldof and Miss Nine.^[10] In January 2012, she signed up to the books of the Viva Model Management agency.^[11]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

B-sides

• "I Don't Mind (Jump on It)" included on the Swedish and UK two-track single of "I'm Good, I'm Gone"
• "After Laughter" split single with El Perro del Mar for Record Store Day 18 April 2009
• "Until We Bleed" – Kleerup featuring Lykke Li included on the Swedish two-track single of "Tonight"
• "Paris Blue" included on the "Get Some" single

Guest appearances

• 2008: "Until We Bleed" – Kleerup featuring Lykke Li (Kleerup)
• 2009: "Gifted" – N.A.S.A. featuring Kanye West, Santogold and Lykke Li (The Spirit of Apollo)
• 2009: "Little Bit" – Drake and Lykke Li (So Far Gone)
• 2009: "Miss It So Much" – Röyksopp featuring Lykke Li (Junior)
• 2008: "Knocked Up" (Lykke Li vs. Rodeo Remix) – Kings of Leon ("Use Somebody")
• 2008: "Starchasers" (as a sample of "Little Bit") – Charles Hamilton (It's Charles Hamilton)
• 2009: "Were You Ever Wanted" – Röyksopp featuring Lykke Li (Junior) [Japanese bonus track]
• 2009: "Leaving You Behind" – Amanda Blank featuring Lykke Li (I Love You)
• 2011: "Let Me Go" - Logic featuring Lykke Li (Young Sinatra)
• 2011: "A New Name To Go By" - Deportees (Island & Shores)
• 2012: "Black Tin Box" - Miike Snow (Downtown Records)

Covers

• "After Laughter Comes Tears" – originally recorded by Wendy Rene
• "Can I Kick It?" – originally recorded by A Tribe Called Quest (regular live cover/performed with Q-Tip at MTVu Awards)
• "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" – originally recorded by Vampire Weekend (regular live cover)
• "Hustlin'" – originally recorded by Rick Ross
• "Knocked Up" – originally recorded by and featuring Kings of Leon
• "A Milli" – originally recorded by Lil Wayne
• "Velvet" – originally recorded by The Big Pink
• "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" – originally recorded by The Shirelles

Music videos

Awards and nominations[link]

Remixes[link]

Her song "I'm Good, I'm Gone" was remixed by Fred Falke and featured in Hed Kandi's Lounge 2009^[15] "I'm Good, I'm Gone" was also covered by British group Friendly Fires in 2009.^[16] Her song "Little Bit" was remixed by Drake, as well as a bootleg remix by AutoErotique. Her song "Little Bit" was sampled and remixed by Charles Hamilton. Her song "Love until We Bleed" was remixed by QuESt. Her song "Dance, Dance, Dance" was remixed by Buraka Som Sistema and Dada life.^[17] Her song "I'm Good, I'm Gone" was also remixed by 3OH!3 as a collaboration.^[18][19] Most recently however her song "I Follow Rivers" was remixed by rapper Tyler, The Creator. A remix of her track "I Follow Rivers" by The Magician has been a huge club success in Europe, taking the track to number 1 in Romania and number 7 in Greece.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Lykke Li at Allmusic
• Lykke Li at the Internet Movie Database
• Lykke Li on RCRD LBL
• Lykke Li at Lollapalooza 2011

Grace Bumbry
Grace Bumbry at the White House for the 2009 Kennedy Center Honors
Born	(1937-01-04) January 4, 1937 (age 75) St Louis, Missouri, USA
Occupation	Opera singer
Years active	1958–present

Grace Bumbry (born January 4, 1937), an American opera singer, is considered one of the leading mezzo-sopranos of her generation, as well as a major soprano for many years. She was a member of a pioneering generation of singers who followed Marian Anderson (including Leontyne Price, Martina Arroyo, Shirley Verrett and Reri Grist) in the world of classical music and paved the way for future African American opera and classical singers. Bumbry's voice was rich and sizable, possessing a wide range, and was capable of producing a very distinctive plangent tone. In her prime, she also possessed good agility and bel canto technique (see for example her renditions of the 'Veil Song' from Verdi's Don Carlo in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as her Ernani from the Chicago Lyric Opera in 1984). She was particularly noted for her fiery temperament and dramatic intensity on stage. More recently, she has also become known as a recitalist and interpreter of lieder, and as a teacher. From the late 1980s on, she seemed to concentrate her career in Europe, rather than in the US. A long time resident of Switzerland, she now makes her home in Salzburg, Austria.

From Mezzo to Soprano to Mezzo[link]

Bumbry's career in the world of opera was a remarkable and long one, if somewhat controversial. Initially, Bumbry began her career as a mezzo-soprano, but later expanded her repertoire to include many dramatic soprano roles. In the mid-1970s and 1980s she considered herself a soprano; but in the 1990s, as her career approached its twilight, she often returned to mezzo roles. She was one of the more successful singers who have made the transition from mezzo-soprano to high soprano (along with her compatriot and contemporary Verrett); however, audiences and critics were divided over whether she was a "true" soprano. Nonetheless, she sang major soprano roles at most major opera houses around the world up until the end of her operatic career in the 1990s—singing Turandot at the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden (London) in 1993, for example. Her operatic career spanned from 1960 (her debut in Paris as Amneris) to 1997 (as Klytämnestra, in Lyon, France).

Early Life and Career[link]

Grace Bumbry was born in St Louis, Missouri, to a family of modest means. In a BBC radio interview she recalled that her father was a railroad porter and her mother a housewife. She graduated from the prestigious Charles Sumner High School, the first black high school west of the Mississippi.^[1] She first won a radio competition at age 17, singing Verdi's demanding aria "O don fatale" (from Don Carlo). One of the prizes for first place was a scholarship to the local music conservatory; however, as the institution was segregated, it would not accept a black student. Embarrassed, the contest promoters arranged for her to study at Boston University instead. She later transferred to Northwestern University, where she met the German dramatic soprano and noted Wagnerian singer Lotte Lehmann, with whom she later studied at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California, and who became her mentor in her early career. She also studied with renowned teacher Armand Tokatyan. In 1958, she was a joint winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions with soprano Martina Arroyo; later that year, she made her recital debut in Paris. Bumbry made her operatic debut in 1960 when she sang Amneris at the Paris Opéra; that same year she joined the Basel Opera.

She gained international renown when she was cast by Wieland Wagner (Richard Wagner's grandson) as Venus at Bayreuth in 1961, at age 24, the first black singer to appear there. The cast also included Anja Silja as Elisabeth and Wolfgang Windgassen as Tannhäuser. Conservative opera-goers were outraged at the idea, but Bumbry's performance was so moving that by the end of the opera she had won the audience over and they applauded for 30 minutes, necessitating 42 curtain calls.^[2] The ensuing furore in the media made Bumbry an international cause célèbre. She was subsequently invited by Jacqueline Kennedy to sing at the White House. (She returned to the White House in 1981, singing at the Ronald Reagan inauguration.) Having begun her operatic career on such a high note, she achieved the rare feat of never falling back on small or comprimario roles.

Bumbry made her Royal Opera House, Covent Garden debut in 1963; her La Scala debut in 1964; and her Metropolitan Opera debut as Princess Eboli in Verdi's Don Carlo in 1965. In 1964, Bumbry appeared for the first time as a soprano, singing Verdi's Lady Macbeth in her debut at the Vienna State Opera. In 1966 she appeared as Carmen opposite Jon Vickers's Don José in two different lauded productions, one with conductor Herbert von Karajan in Salzburg and the other for Bumbry's debut with the San Francisco Opera. In 1967 she sang Carmen again in her debut with the Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company and returned to the San Francisco Opera for her first performance of Laura Adorno in La Gioconda with Maureen Forrester as La Cieca and Chester Ludgin as Barnaba.

In 1963, she married the Polish-born tenor Erwin Jaeckel. They divorced in 1972.

Later career[link]

In the 1970s, Bumbry—having recorded many soprano arias—began taking on more soprano roles. Her first unmistakably soprano role was Salome in 1970 at Covent Garden (both Santuzza and Lady Macbeth, which she had previously sung, can be considered 'transition' roles between mezzo and soprano). In 1971, she debuted as Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera (a performance that also marked James Levine's house debut as conductor). She also took on more unusual roles, such as Janáček's Jenůfa (in Italian) at La Scala in 1974 (with Magda Olivero as the Kostelnička), Dukas's Ariane et Barbe-bleue in Paris in 1975, and Sélika in Meyerbeer's L'Africaine at Covent Garden in 1978 (opposite Plácido Domingo as Vasco da Gama). Because of her full, dramatic soprano sound, she also began assuming such roles as Norma, Medea, Abigaille and Gioconda—roles not coincidentally associated with Maria Callas. She first sang Norma in 1977 in Martina Franca, Italy; the following year, she sang both Norma and Adalgisa in the same production at Covent Garden: first as the younger priestess opposite Montserrat Caballé as Norma; later, as Norma, with Josephine Veasey as Adalgisa.

As an interpreter of lieder she often performed with the German pianist Sebastian Peschko.

Other noted soprano roles in her career have included: Cassandre, Chimène (in Le Cid), Elisabeth (in Tannhäuser), Elvira (in Ernani), Leonora (both Il trovatore and La forza del destino), Aida, Turandot and Bess. Other major mezzo-soprano roles in her repertory included: Dalila, Didon (in Les Troyens), Massenet's Hérodiade, Adalgisa, Ulrica, Azucena, Orfeo (her only trouser role), Poppea and Baba the Turk.

In 1991, at the opening of the new Opéra Bastille, she appeared as Cassandre, with Shirley Verrett as Didon. Because of a strike at the opera, Verrett was unable to perform at the re-scheduled last performance (this incident is recounted in Verrett's autobiography), and Bumbry sang both Cassandre and Didon in the same evening.

In the 1990s, she also founded and toured with her Grace Bumbry Black Musical Heritage Ensemble, a group devoted to preserving and performing traditional Negro spirituals. Her last operatic appearance was as Klytämnestra in Richard Strauss's Elektra in Lyon in 1997. She has since devoted herself to teaching and judging international competitions; and to the concert stage, giving a series of recitals in 2001 and 2002 in honor of her teacher, Lotte Lehmann, including in Paris (Théâtre du Châtelet), London (Wigmore Hall) and New York (Alice Tully Hall). A DVD of the Paris recital was later issued by TDK.

Her advice to young singers is: "To strive for excellence, that's the answer. If you strive for excellence, that means that you are determined. You will find a way to get to your goal, even if it means having to turn down some really great offers. You have to live with that, as you have to live with yourself."^[3]

Recordings and honors[link]

Of her recorded legacy, there's much from her mezzo period, including at least two Carmens and three Amnerises (possibly her most frequently performed role onstage and most frequently recorded), Venus (with Anja Silja as Elisabeth, at the 1962 Bayreuth Festival), Eboli and Orfeo. There are no commercially released complete studio opera recordings with her in a soprano role, but there are recordings of live performances of Le Cid (with the Opera Orchestra of New York), Jenůfa (at La Scala) and Norma (Martina Franca), in addition to some commercial compilations that include arias in the soprano repertoire. Interestingly enough, many of these were recorded in her "mezzo period", in the 1960s (including excerpts of La forza del destino in German, with Bumbry as Leonora and Nicolai Gedda as Alvaro). She also recorded music for the musical Carmen Jones, based on the Bizet opera; as well as operetta (Johan Strauss II's Der Zigeunerbaron), oratorio (Handel's Israel in Egypt and Judas Maccabeus), and an album of pop songs.

Bumbry has been inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame. Among other honors, she was bestowed the UNESCO Award, the Distinguished Alumna Award from the Academy of Music of the West, Italy's Premio Giuseppe Verdi, and was named Commandeur des Arts et Lettres by the French government. On December 6, 2009, she was among those honored with the 2009 Kennedy Center Honors, for her contribution to the performing arts.

Further reading[link]

• Hamilton, David. (1987). The Metropolitan Opera Encyclopedia: A Comprehensive Guide to the World of Opera. New York, London, Toronto, Sydney, Tokyo: Simon and Schuster. p. 58-9. ISBN 0-671-61732-X.
• Hamilton, Mary. (1990). A-Z of Opera. New York, Oxford, Sydney: Facts On File. p. 38. ISBN 0-8160-2340-9.
• Nash, Elizabeth, Autobiographical Reminiscences of African-American Classical Singers, 1853-Present, Edwin Mellen Press, 2007. ISBN 0-7734-5250-8
• Rosenthal, Harold and John Warrack. (1979, 2nd ed.). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera. London, New York and Melbourne: Oxford University Press. p. 70. ISBN 0-19-311318-X.
• Sadie, Stanley and Christina Bashford. (1992). The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. London: Macmillan Publishers Ltd. Vol. 1, p. 639. ISBN 0-935859-92-6.
• Sadie, Stanley and John Tyrrell. (2001). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. London: Macmillan Publishers Ltd. Vol. 4, p. 601-2. ISBN 0-333-60800-3.
• Warrack, John and Ewan West. (1996 3rd ed.). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 69. ISBN 0-19-280028-0

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Grace Bumbry

• Boston University Online: "Amazing Grace"
• answers.com Grace Bumbry, includes reprint of a magazine article
• MusicianGuide.com biography
• Opera News story on Grace Bumbry
• St. Louis Walk of Fame page for Grace Bumbry
• Interviews with Grace Bumbry at Culturekiosque operanet, Trubadur and Online Musik Magazin (in German)
• Time magazine review, 16 November 1962
• Time magazine review on recital at White House 1962
• Andante.com review of recital in New York, February 2002
• Music Academy of the West faculty profile
• Grace Bumbry at the Internet Movie Database
• Discography (Capon's Lists of Opera Recordings)
• MetOpera Database
• Interview with Grace Bumbry by Bruce Duffie, October 14, 1982

Denyce Graves in concert

Denyce Graves (born March 7, 1964 in Washington, D.C.) is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer.

Early life[link]

Graves was born on March 7, 1964, to Charles Graves and Dorothy (Middleton) Graves-Kenner. She is the middle of three children and was raised by her mother on Galveston Street, S.W., in the Bellevue section of Washington.^[1] She graduated from the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in 1981. Graves studied voice at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the New England Conservatory.^[2] She worked at the Wolf Trap Opera Company, which provides further training and experience for young singers who are between their academic training and full-time professional careers. Soon after, she was invited by David Gockley to participate in the Houston Opera Studio from 1988-90 where she studied with Elena Nikolaidi.

Career[link]

She made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1995^[1] and has appeared at many opera houses. Though her repertoire is extensive, her signature parts are the title roles in Carmen and Samson et Dalila. On January 20, 2005, she sang the patriotic song "American Anthem" during the 55th Presidential Inauguration, between the swearing-in ceremonies of Vice President Dick Cheney and President George W. Bush for their second terms in office.^[3]

Graves sang "America the Beautiful" and "The Lord's Prayer" at the Washington National Cathedral during a memorial service for the victims of 9/11 on September 14, 2001, attended by President Bush, members of Congress, other politicians and representatives of foreign governments.^[4]

In 2003, Graves performed in front of a live audience at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia for a television special, Denyce Graves: Breaking the Rules. In 2005, she hosted the radio show Voce di Donna (Voice of a Lady) on Vox!, the vocal classical music channel of XM Satellite Radio, on which she interviewed various opera singers. Graves often was heard on The Tony Kornheiser Show radio program with her rendition of the "Mailbag Theme".

She performed the opera Werther with Andrea Bocelli for the Michigan Opera Theatre, the first opera broadcast on the Internet in its entirety in 1999. She is currently an industry panelist on American Idol Underground.

On January 2, 2007, Graves performed "The Lord's Prayer" at the state funeral for Gerald Ford at the Washington National Cathedral.

Graves sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" as part of the pre-game ceremonies inaugurating Nationals Park.

On April 12, 2009, Graves performed a tribute concert to Marian Anderson at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, organized by the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. In May 2010, Graves performed a concert with tenor Lawrence Brownlee in the United States Supreme Court Building for the Supreme Court justices.^[5]

On the evening of September 11, 2011, Graves performed at the "Concert for Hope" at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks. That same year, she appeared as a Pennington Great Performers series artist with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra.

Personal life[link]

In the late 1980's she was involved with tenor, Fernando del Valle, later, Graves married guitarist David Perry in 1990 and divorced in the early 2000s. She then had a relationship with French composer and clarinetist Vincent Thomas. After breaking up Graves discovered she was pregnant, something she thought was impossible because she had been told that fibroids and other conditions prevented her from getting pregnant and Thomas told her he had a vasectomy. In June 2004, she gave birth to Ella (named after Ella Fitzgerald) via emergency C-section in Paris.^[6] In June 2006, she met Robert Montgomery, a Johns Hopkins doctor, on an airplane from Dulles Airport to Paris.^[4] They were married on June 29, 2009, in a family-only affair. In August the couple travelled to Kenya for a tradition Maasai blessing and had a five-day wedding celebration in September that featured a kick-off party in a private airplane hangar, a rehearsal dinner at their home, a reception at the Anderson House in Dupont Circle, and a day-after picnic on the grounds of Duke Ellington High School.^[7] Montgomery is now the Chief of Transplant Surgery at Johns Hopkins Medical Center. The couple resides in Bethesda, Maryland.

References[link]

External links[link]

Biography portal

• Denyce Graves
• allmusic.com biography