Judith Bettina, soprano

Hailed as “a sensationally accomplished soprano” by New York Magazine, Judith Bettina is known for her proficiency in a wide range of musical styles. She has appeared as guest soloist with such orchestras as the Houston Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, American Composers’ Orchestra, and the Munich Philharmonic. She has collaborated with chamber groups throughout the United States and Europe, including the Bach Chamber Soloists, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, The Met Chamber Ensemble, Continuum, Collage New Music, Bard Music Festival, New York Philmusica, Parnassus, Speculum Musicae, The Geneva Music Festival, Ensemble 21, Boston Musica Viva, San Francisco Contemporary Chamber Players, the Monadnock Music Festival. She has performed at the Library of Congress and for the Works and Process series at the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Highly acclaimed for her performances of contemporary music, New York Times music critic wrote, “Judith Bettina is that welcome rarity, a contemporary music specialist who has a beautiful voice…the richness of her tone was consistently a pleasure.” Ms. Bettina has had works written for her by Mel Powell, Tobias Picker, Christopher Berg, Chester Biscardi, David Rakowski, Richard Karpen, and David Olan. She has premiered works by Charles Wuorinen, Milton Babbitt, Lori Dobbins, Richard Danielpour, George Tsontakis, and Vivian Fine. Ms. Bettina's recent performances have included Tobias Picker's Symphony No. 2: Aussöhnung and the premiere of Trest sonetos de amor, Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire, Edison Denisov's La vie en rouge, and Milton Babbitt’s Head of the Bed with James Levine and The Met Chamber Ensemble.

Her recordings with pianist James Goldsworthy of Chester Biscardi's The Gift of Life, David Rakowski's Three Songs on Poems of Louise Bogan, and a new release of songs by Otto Luening are on Composers Recordings, Inc. She has also recorded works by Milton Babbitt and Mel Powell on New World Records and Musicmasters, respectively, and has been featured in recordings on Harmonia Mundi, Musical Heritage Society, Opus One, and Wergo. Her most recent release, Songs & Encores (Bridge Records), is a tribute to Ms. Bettina’s long relationships with a stylistically broad range of American composers, receiving critical acclaim in The International Record Review and BBC Music Magazine.

Ms. Bettina has been on the faculty of Stanford University, the Chamber Music Conference and Composer’s Forum of the East, and The Bowdoin International Music Festival’s Music School. She is currently editing the first volume of songs by Tobias Picker for Schott Music Publishers. She resides in Princeton Junction, New Jersey.