Artistic C0-Directors Bios
American Vanguard Festival Guest Artists Bios
Tony Arnold, soprano
Clarity, depth, imagination, and vocal beauty mark the performances of soprano Tony Arnold, who is internationally recognized for her interpretation of the contemporary repertoire. In 2001 she became the first vocalist ever to win the prestigious Gaudeamus International Interpreters Competition, and later that year took top honors at the McMahon International Music Competition. Since those triumphs she has been widely sought as both a concert and recording artist.
Ms. Arnold has received critical acclaim for both her vocal artistry and barrier-breaking performance style. "Blessed with an impressive range and a voice as smooth as cognac, Arnold can handle leaps and challenging harmonic progressions with ease... Arnold seems to embrace whatever she sings – she can make a listener love a work, just because she does," (Buffalo News). "Tony Arnold was spellbinding, whether reciting the text in an urgent, ghostly whisper or sending forth the deliberate, wide-ranging vocal line with laser-like clarity," (Chicago Sun-Times). "Tony Arnold was the soloist, technically sensational. Her intonation and emotional commitment to this extremely wide-stepping music were stunning, creating in the huge leaping or falling intervals a sense of spontaneity not often captured in such lurching atonal scores," (American Record Guide).
From Aperghis to Zuidam, Tony Arnold's work has focused on the most innovative composers of our time, including György Ligeti, Thomas Adés, György Kurtág, George Crumb, Bernard Rands, Elliott Carter, Vache Sharafyan, and Oliver Knussen. Her wide repertoire includes masterworks of Olivier Messiaen and Arnold Schoenberg. She is also deeply committed to the creation of new vocal music, working closely with both established and emerging composers including those at the University at Buffalo, where she joined the faculty in 2003.