Karen Siegel composer & soprano bio Karen Siegel grew up in Great Neck, New York, in a family whose favorite pastime is to sing in four-part harmony. She began studying composing as a senior at Yale, and studied composition with Conrad Cummings through the Juilliard Evening Division program. She recently received a Master of Arts Degree in Music Composition from New York University, where she studied with Marc-Antonio Consoli. Performances at NYU include Carmen, a work for soprano, string quartet, and wind quintet, which won the 2004 NYU Wind Quintet Award; Rose Dear, for soprano and chamber ensemble, selected for performance by the NYU Chamber Orchestra; and Mon Coeur Frigidaire (a Senegalese expression of endearment), for an ensemble of winds, brass, piano and double bass. As a singer as well as a composer, Karen seeks out the places where these two passions intersect: writing for the voice and performing her own work and that of her colleagues. She started vocal training at the age of 13, continuing to study voice while pursuing a degree in psychology at Yale University. While at Yale she was featured as a soloist with the Yale Glee Club, and toured internationally with both the Glee Club and the a cappella group Whim ‘n Rhythm. Vocal performances in New York include a recital of new music featuring premieres of works by six composers, including Still the Golden Gate by Conrad Cummings, at the NYU Catholic Center; the premiere of Hyun-Il Cho’s To Autumn; a recital at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music; and a concert of Italian Baroque duets with the NYU Collegium Musicum. Karen has studied voice with Danae Papageorge, Rolando Sanz, Christine Moore and Lavinia Bertotti, and now studies with Jacqui Horner. home