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The American soprano and teacher, Daisy Newman, earned her Bachelor of Arts in Music from Cleveland State University, and received additional training at Oberlin Music Conservatory, Oglebay Opera Institute, Tanglewood Festival and the Marlboro Music Festival.
Daisy Newman is a highly regarded musician, who enjoyed an international career as a soprano soloist in opera, oratorio, and recitals, and worked closely with such musical figures as Leonard Bernstein, Robert Shaw, Erich Kunzel, James Conlon, Seiji Ozawa, Rudolf Serkin, Mstislav Rostropovich and Boris Goldovsky. Her production of Porgy and Bess was nominated for a Tony Award following a three-month run at radio City Music Hall in New York City. She sang the role of Bess in five different productions during her career. However, her most performed role was Cio-Cio San in Madame Butterfly. She also toured England, Germany and Russia with Leonard Bernstein as soprano soloist for his 70th Birthday Tour, which was filmed by BBC. Seiji Ozawa, conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, awarded Daisy Newman “Most Outstanding Vocal Soloist” at the Tanglewood Music Festival. She also received keys to several American and European cities, including Bournemouth, England, given to her by the Lord Mayor honoring her outstanding vocal performances. In 1980 she performed at the Baldwin-Wallace College Bach Festival.
Early in her professional career, Daisy Newman taught music in the public schools in Cleveland, Ohio. She worked for the New York Philharmonic Orchestra as assistant to the Director of Education and assistant to the Chief Financial Officer. Afterwards she was director of education for Detroit Symphony Orchestra for eight years. In that capacity, she designed and implemented a range of programs serving both inner city and suburban youth that included a school partnership program involving eight school districts; the Detroit Symphony Orchestra Summer Institute, an orchestral training program; Sinfonia, a training orchestra; the Jazz Youth Initiative, linking young musicians with legendary jazz masters; a partnership with the Detroit School for the Performing Arts; and the Civic Jazz Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s first big band for middle and high school students. In addition, she has administered DSO’s Civic Orchestra for youth, educational concerts for school children, a national fellowship program for young orchestra musicians, a residency that provided orchestral career training for graduate students and the Unisys African American Composers Program for visiting composers. In March 2003 she joined the UC Berkeley Young Musicians’ Program (YMP) as their fourth Director and brings a wealth of musical and administrative experience to the young musicians in that program. |
