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BIO - download doc here:
LONG BIO Vocalist Liz Pearse has alternately been described as a “badass”, having “a near-psychic understanding of what a composer is trying to accomplish”, and possessing “a voice made of arrows forged in a volcanic pit, transforming the didactic and mundanely intellectual into actual fire”. After a childhood spent playing every instrument she could find, Liz has focused her career on exploring the infinite possibilities of the human voice. Her uniquely colorful and versatile instrument has led to performances of wide-ranging works from medieval to modern, and though Liz is known as a specialist in contemporary vocal repertoire, she enjoys a well-aged song. Though she has mostly retired from the opera stage, Liz has performed with Lyric Opera Kansas City, and was a featured soloist in Turandot performances with Michigan Opera Theatre and Toledo Opera. She has originated several contemporary operatic roles including Vassa in The Winter Dog (2019) and Felix in The Strange Child (2022), as well as reveling in older shows - singing the title role of The Merry Widow, La Contessa in Le nozze di Figaro, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, and Countess Charlotte in A Little Night Music, among other roles. As an active chamber and choral musician, Liz has enjoyed invitations to perform at festivals and venues around Europe and North America. In spring 2025, she made her Ordway debut in the Twin Cities singing Osvaldo Golijov's Oceana under the baton of Dr. Ahmed Anzaldúa with Border CrosSing Choir, an ensemble she is privileged to work with as a soloist and chorister. Most recently internationally, she sang concerts in Luzern and Wittnau, Switzerland with Damselfly Trio, and summer 2023 brought her debut performances in Mexico performing with Quince on the Festival de Mayo in Guadalajara and with Cepromusic in Mexico City, where she performed as the alto soloist in György Ligeti’s Aventures/Nouvelles Aventures. Past highlights include Berio’s Coro with the Lucerne Festival Academy under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle; a tour of Ireland and Northern Ireland performing the music of composer Ryan Molloy; the Polish premiere of love fail with Quince on the KODY Festiwal; the Bang on a Can Long Play festival, the Toronto Electroacoustic Symposium, countless university residencies around the United States; and recording sessions in Germany, Switzerland, Ireland, San Diego, and Minneapolis. Liz often performs self-accompanied at the piano. She has commissioned and performed over a dozen works for solo singer/pianist, and her doctoral dissertation discusses the practice in relation to Roger Reynolds’ Sketchbook for The Unbearable Lightness of Being, recently recorded and released on the double album For a Reason with Neuma Records. Though self-accompanying is a large part of her practice, Liz has a voracious appetite for the camaraderie of chamber music. In addition to her work with Swiss/USA-based Damselfly Trio and collaborations with pianists performing the vocal music of Messiaen, Babbitt, and a range of other fascinating composers, Liz is one-fourth of Quince Ensemble, an American Midwest-based treble quartet dedicated to the creation and performance of contemporary vocal literature. When she’s not performing, Liz lives and teaches in the beautiful Driftless region of Minnesota. More information about Liz can be found at lizpearse.com MEDIUM LENGTH BIO Liz Pearse delights in untangling the gnarliest musical knots. Possessing an intimidating set of skills, a penchant for novelty, and “a voice made of arrows forged in a volcanic pit, transforming the didactic and mundanely intellectual into actual fire”, Liz is known by most as a performer of deadly accuracy who produces a beautiful sound – and lots of it. Her unusually flexible and colorful voice lends itself to a variety of repertoire from medieval to modern, but she is most often found performing music by living composers, having premiered countless works of vocal music by composers from around the world. Recently, Liz made her Ordway solo debut singing Osvaldo Golijov’s Oceana under the baton of Dr. Ahmed Anzaldúa with Border CrosSing Choir, an ensemble she is privileged to work with as a soloist and chorister. An avid chamber musician, she is a member of Quince Ensemble (a treble quartet dedicated to fostering the creation of excellent chamber vocal music), and Damselfly Trio (a flute/harp/voice ensemble shattering notions of what sonic spaces these instruments can occupy). When she’s not working with her chosen collaborators, Liz performs at the piano as an avid self-accompanist. She has commissioned over a dozen works to play and sing, and her recording of Roger Reynolds’ self-accompanied Sketchbook for The Unbearable Lightness of Being was recently released on Neuma Records’ For a Reason. In addition, she is an enthusiastic clarinetist with the La Crosse Wind Symphony and Concert Band, and recently added piano accordion to a long list of instruments she loves to play. When she’s not performing, Liz lives and teaches in the beautiful Driftless region of Minnesota. More information about Liz can be found at lizpearse.com SHORT BIO Vocalist Liz Pearse has alternately been described as a “badass”, having “a near-psychic understanding of what a composer is trying to accomplish”, and possessing “a voice made of arrows forged in a volcanic pit, transforming the didactic and mundanely intellectual into actual fire”. After a childhood spent playing every instrument she could find, Liz has focused her career on exploring the infinite possibilities of the human voice. Liz enjoys work as a solo artist and as a chamber musician, and has performed all over North America (from Canada to Mexico and coast-to-coast in the USA) and in both Europe and the United Kingdom. Though solo performance and self-accompanying is a large part of her practice, Liz has a voracious appetite for the camaraderie of chamber music, mostly with ensembles Quince and Damselfly Trio. When she’s not performing, Liz lives and teaches in the beautiful Driftless region of Minnesota. lizpearse.com ULTRASHORT BIO Liz Pearse can probably sightread any piece of music you put in front of her to a scary level of accuracy. She can also probably play any instrument you hand her (unless it's a guitar, she's very bad at guitar). Imagine what she can do if she gets to practice first! lizpearse.com ------------------------------------- Liz maintains a private studio based in Minnesota. Please contact her for information regarding lessons! Liz currently teaches applied voice applied voice at Winona State University, and recently taught applied voice and chamber music at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. She has previously taught Vocal Pedagogy and applied voice at UW-Eau Claire, Vocal Repertoire and Singers' Diction at Bowling Green State University, and Group Voice at Owens Community College, in addition to studio teaching in person and online. Her research focus in contemporary music focuses on pedagogy for contemporary singing - both within and outside of the Western Art music realm. PHOTOS (use download links below for high-res)
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Photo by Karjaka Studios 2024
Photo by Karjaka Studios 2024
Photo by Karjaka Studios 2024
Photo by Karjaka Studios 2024
Photo by Matt DeBoer 2017
Photo by Karjaka Studios 2016
Photo by Ben Semisch
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