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The American contralto, Elizabeth Anker, earned her B.A. from University of California at Berkeley. Most of her voice study was done privately, with good teachers and coachesn as Lillian Loran, Elwood Thornton and James Schwabacher. She went to Europe where she studied with Jessica Cash, Edward Zambara and Robert Honeysucker, among others. She also took master-classes with Max van Egmond, Judith Nelson, Ian Partridge, René Jacobs and William Parker.
Elizabeth Anker's wide repertoire spans from medieval chant to contemporary pieces written for her unique voice. She has performed with the San Franscisco Symphony Orchestra (the premiere of John Adams' Grand Pianola Music), Philharmonia Baroque (Messiah), Handel and Haydn Society (Antonio Vivaldi's Gloria), Boston Bach Ensemble (J.S. Bach's Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248) and chamber music), Boston Cecilia (Bach programs), Back Bay Chroale, Emmanuel Music, and at Bach festivals in San Francisco and France. She has toured with Sequentia of Koln and the Boston Camerata. In the field of Baroque opera, she sang the title role in the modern revival of Cesti's Semiramide and the role Galatea in George Frideric Handel's Acis e Galatea e Rolifemo.
Elizabeth Anker regularly sings recitals and chamber music, and has performed at Boston's Gardner Museum, San Francisco's Old First Church, and at many other concert series. Among the composers who have written pieces for her are Julian Wachner, Eric Sawyer, Douglas Johnson, Tamar Diesendruck, and Mark Winges. As a chamber music soloist, she has performed at the International Congress on Women in Music, Tanglewood Music Festival, and festivals in France and Mexico.
Elizabeth Anker is on the voice faculty of the New England Conservatory of Music, Extension Division, and the Longy School of Music.
Elizabeth Anker has recorded Bach's Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248) on Titanic, Julian Wachner's Concerning Passion on Arsis, and several discs of American and Shaker hymns and the Boston Camerata on Erato. |
