"A fresh, agile voice of ingratiating sweetness; artful singing, intelligent and idiomatic in several repertoires."
(formal New York recital debut)
The New York Times
A performer, recording artist and voice teacher, Danielle commands an impressively broad repertoire of music, from classical and operatic to jazz, popular, folk, world music and musical theater, spanning the middle ages to the present day. She consistently delights audiences with her beautiful voice, artful singing and powerful stage presence.
Her many New York City performances have ranged from La MaMa to Lincoln Center, including a recital debut at Merkin Concert Hall that was praised by The New York Times, and the world premiere run of Barbara Benary's gamelan opera Karna, whose two principal female roles were written for and developed by the soprano.
In fully staged works, she has sung principal roles with the Amato, Brooklyn Lyric and Delaware Valley Opera Companies, NYCA, the Hudson Valley Musical Theatre Company, and the Rhinebeck and Shandaken Theatrical Societies. She has been heard over National Public Radio, WAMC's Northeast Public Radio Network, WMHT-WRHV, and all of New York City's classical, public and university radio stations.
A guest artist on several recordings, in 1999 her first full-length solo CD was issued on the Parnassus Records label (PACD 96012). Entitled, She Walks in Beauty: Soprano Danielle Woerner Sings Chamber Music and Songs of Otto Luening and Robert Starer, the disk features supporting performances by pianists Robert Starer and Sylvia Buccelli, flutists Patricia Spencer and Marcia Gates, clarinetist Jean Kopperud, cellist Susan Seligman, and the Hudson Valley Philharmonic String Quartet. The CD's title is taken from Otto Luening's setting of the famous poem by Lord Byron. As Danielle describes it, "It sums up the journey we take through these poems set to music, which reflect the dark as well as the bright aspects of human experience. The poet describes a 'beauty' which encompasses both her innocence and her experience, the totality of her light and her shadow sides."
Danielle's work with living composers is a significant part of her career. Several have written pieces expressly for her. In addition to Benary, Luening and Starer, she has given first performances of music by John Cage, Baikida Carroll, Edith Gutierrez, Daron Hagen, Stefania de Kenessey, Barry O'Neal, Enrique Ubieta, and many others.
In the Hudson Valley, the singer has been heard in return solo engagements with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, Woodstock Chamber Orchestra, Camerata Chorale/Ulster Choral Society, Ars Choralis, SUNY New Paltz College-Community Chorus, Taghkanic Chorale and other ensembles. She has appeared on concert series including Maverick Concerts in Woodstock, the Grand Montgomery Chamber Music Series, Lunch 'n' Listen in Poughkeepsie, the Fountains at Millbrook, Saugerties Pro Musica, and Concerts on the Hill in Hopewell. Her recitals and chamber music concerts have been consistently included in critics' year-end roundups of the year's best musical events in the Valley.
Danielle holds a B.A. in music from Bard College; her major musical mentors have included Bethany Beardslee, Nora Bosler, Martha Gerhart, Richard Getke, Thomas LoMonaco, and jazz great Lennie Tristano. She teaches voice as a faculty-adjunct at Bard College and SUNY New Paltz, and in her Woodstock-area and Manhattan studios. She also works as an Activity Therapist with Benedictine Hospital's Mental Health Services. She has been appointed Artist in Residence at Ulster County Community College for the fall 2000 semester.
In 1993, she founded the Artist in Residence Program at Holy Cross Church in Kingston, a community-service musical program which brings top performers in the Hudson Valley together with their community. She frequently appears on benefit programs for arts and educational institutions. And she's a contributing writer on musical subjects to Hudson Valley Magazine and The Woodstock Times.
For further details, see Danielle Woerner