Angela Dean-Baham Soprano

Angela Dean-Baham began her performing career in Cincinnati, where as a graduate student she appeared with the Cincinnati Opera Young Artist Program in the classical operetta Ruddygore. Since relocating to the Bay area, she has become a much sought-after performer and has been recognized for her "exuberant portrayal" and her "distinctive "silvery soprano" voice. She has appeared with Festival Opera of Walnut Creek, Berkeley Opera, Pocket Opera, Oakland Lyric Opera and Oakland Opera Theatre. Her performances have been said to leave an "indelible impression."

With a penchant for new music, Ms. Dean-Baham has pursued her interest and appeared in several contemporary operas. In 2006, she performed the role of Betty Shabazz in the West Coast Premier of Anthony Davis' The Life and Times of Malcom X with Oakland Opera Theatre. Other contemporary roles include Lady with a Cake Box in Postcard from Morocco, Queen Tye in the West Coast Premier of Akhnaten by Philip Glass – recognized by the San Francisco Chronicle as one of the Ten Best Performances of 2004, Felice in La Belle et la Bête, and La Novia in Así que Pasen Cinco Años.

Ms. Dean-Baham continues to perform musical theater, and appeared as Sarah in Ragtime with Producers Associates' Woodminster Summer Musicals in 2006. Other opera roles performed include Micaela in Carmen, Anne Truelove in The Rake's Progress, and Erste Dame in Die Zauberflôte. She is also a member of the internationally recognized Andrea Fulton Chorale, which performs the annual Bracebridge Dinner holiday celebration at Yosemite National Park.

A gifted recitalist, Ms. Dean-Baham was greatly honored to perform at Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown’s 2000 Inaugural Festivities. In addition, she has been a featured artist at the City of Oakland’s ItalianFesta and at Walnut Creek’s Opera in the Park. Maestro Eric Kujawsky, Music Director of the Redwood Symphony Orchestra, calls Ms. Dean-Baham’s performance as Serena in Porgy and Bess “…deeply moving and impeccably sung” and recalls that “Her ‘My Man’s Gone Now’ brought the house down.”

In competition, Ms. Dean-Baham has earned recognition. At the Leontyne Price Vocal Arts Competition, she was named a third place Regional Winner and was also a Finalist in the Columbus Opera Competition. She has been selected as a Finalist in the 2008 IBLA Bellini Grand Prize Vocal Competition and will be a featured artist at the Cite de la Musique Arts Festival in Paris. She is currently producing a one woman show entitled The Unsung Diva, to be produced in 2009 by the Afro Solo Theater Company of San Francisco.

Ms. Dean-Baham received her Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies from Spelman College and continued her studies at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where she obtained a Master of Music in Voice. She has studied both the lyric and dramatic coloratura repertoire and has furthered her training at the Bay Area Summer Opera Theatre Institute, the Brevard Music Center and at OperaWorks in Los Angeles. She currently studies voice with Jane Randolph.

(Revised 03 10 08)