As an internationally recognized leading interpreter of contemporary and modern music, mezzo-soprano Rachel Calloway brings versatility and compelling insight to stages worldwide. Her work has been praised by the New York Times for “penetrating clarity” and “considerable depth of expression” and by Opera News for her “adept musicianship and dramatic flair.”

Last season’s highlights included a debut with the California Symphony in works by Gabriela Lena Frank and Mahler, continued collaborations with John Zorn in Katowice, Poland, alto soloist in The Messiah with the Aiken Symphony and others, and performances and residencies with Duo Cortona, Calloway’s duo alongside violinist Ari Streisfeld, in Rochester and Pittsburgh.

Recent engagements include performances with the Orlando Philharmonic in Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, the music of John Zorn at November Music in the Netherlands, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Art Institute of Chicago, collaborations with the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music, and Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire with Ensemble Signal at the Library of Congress. She has appeared in concert with the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Series, the New York Philharmonic, Berkeley Symphony, Ojai Festival, San Francisco Girls’ Chorus, BAM Next Wave Festival, Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, Cal Performances, and Lincoln Center Festival.  Calloway is a frequent collaborator with today’s leading ensembles including the Amernet Quartet, JACK Quartet, and Third Coast Percussion. She has collaborated with today’s foremost composers including: Gabriela Lena Frank, Georg Friederich Haas, Unsuk Chin, Steven Stucky, Oliver Knussen, Nico Muhly, and Donnacha Dennehy. Ms. Calloway has appeared at the Kennedy Center under the auspices of Pro Musica Hebraica.  She is a founding member of Shir Ami, an ensemble dedicated to the preservation and performances of lost and unknown Jewish art music.

Ms. Calloway made her European operatic debut as Mrs. Grose in The Turn of the Screw at Opéra de Reims, Athénée Théâtre Louis-Jovet (Paris) and Opéra de Lille.  She has performed with Lorin Maazel at the Castleton Festival in Virginia, Opera Philadelphia, Tulsa Opera, Central City Opera, Gotham Chamber Opera, The PROTOTYPE Festival, and the Glimmerglass Festival.  

Ms. Calloway serves on the faculty of the University of South Carolina as Instructor of Voice and is Director of Spark, Carolina’s Music Leadership Laboratory. She joined the faculty of the Cortona Sessions for New Music (Italy) in 2014 and Summer Performing Arts with Juilliard (Switzerland) in 2016. She is a founding member of Shir Ami, an ensemble dedicated to the preservation and performance of lost and unknown Jewish art music. Ms. Calloway holds degrees from The Juilliard School (BM) and Manhattan School of Music (MM) and can be heard on Albany Records, Tzadik Records, BCMF Records, and Toccata Classics. www.rachelcalloway.com