Katherine Kelton
LYRIC MEZZO
“Kelton’s rich voice can handle both lyric and dramatic music, and while she has an imposing weight of tone in the lower register, her upper extension is persuasive and clear.”
The Santa Fe New Mexican
“Katherine Kelton is one of the most remarkable vocal musicians I have ever worked with. In her, one finds a near-perfect mix of character, personality, and talent. Her strong, warm, and untroubled vocal production is undergirded by a fine sense of musicality, and is further enhanced by world-class musical skills.”
Larry Bandfield, Founder and Former Artistic Director, Santa Fe Desert Chorale
“She is possessed of a voice of rare beauty, and an intellectual understanding of what the text should convey to the listener. She is an engaging performer, whether on the concert stage, in recital, oratorio, or holding forth in an operatic role.”
Jeffery Jones-Ragona, St. Edwards University, Austin, TX
PRESS KIT
Katherine Kelton, mezzo-soprano, maintains an active and varied singing career, appearing frequently as a soloist and recitalist in an eclectic range of music, from chant to contemporary literature. Her solo work with the Santa Fe Desert Chorale has received critical acclaim. She has appeared as soloist with the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, the Nashville Symphony, the Santa Fe Symphony, and the Tuscaloosa Symphony, among others. Her solo appearances at festivals include the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, the Banff Festival of the Arts, the Victoria Bach Festival, and the Lake Placid International Vocal Seminar. Early Music groups with which she has appeared include the Dayton Bach Society, Ensemble Ouabache, the Kansas Early Music Consort, and the Texas Early Music Project.
Dr. Kelton received the Doctor of Musical Arts and the Master of Music in Applied Voice from The University of Texas at Austin. Her doctoral dissertation was “The Songs of Mrs. H. H. A. Beach.” She also holds a B. M. in Applied Voice and a B. S. in Education, both summa cum laude, from The University of Alabama, where she was awarded that institution’s highest student accolade, the John F. Ramsey Award, for “outstanding scholarship, leadership, and broad humanistic interests.” In 1991 she was one of the first recipients of a P. E. O. Scholar Award for dissertation research. She has received grants for study and research from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and Butler University. She was selected to participate in the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Intern Program for young NATS teachers in 1993. Among her many awards for singing, she was named a national semi-finalist in the 1995 National Federation of Music Clubs Young Artist Award Competition, and in 1998, she the alternate for the voice finalist in the Mu Phi Epsilon International Artist Competition. She was the 1999 winner of the Bel Canto Chorus (Milwaukee) Regional Artist Competition and the 1985 winner of the Young Artist Competition at the Salado (Texas) Festival. She has been a two-time state winner of the NATS Artist Award auditions and a two-time second place winner of the NATSAA regional auditions.
A noted expert on the songs of American composer Amy Beach, she has presented many recitals of Mrs. Beach’s music throughout the United States and has had several articles published about
Mrs. Beach’s contribution to American Song Literature. In 1999, Dr. Kelton was the recipient of a Butler University Faculty Grant to record a compact disc of songs by Mrs. Beach. Other recent recordings include promotional materials for Hal Leonard and Lorenz Publishers and a CD that accompanies Dr. James Briscoe’s Contemporary Anthology of Music by Women, published by Indiana University Press.
Dr. Kelton is Associate Professor of Music at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. Prior to her appointment at Butler University in 1996, Dr. Kelton held teaching positions at Pittsburg (Kansas) State University and in the McAllen (Texas ) Independent School District. She has also taught at the Hochschule für Music und Theater in Hannover, Germany, has served on the faculty of the Berkshire Choral Festival, Santa Fe, and has been the Diction Coach for the Santa Fe Desert Chorale.
