Degrees: DMA, 2008, Peabody Institute; BA, 1987, Yale College

Bio:

Soprano Sarah Adams Hoover has appeared in recital, oratorio, operatic and chamber music performances throughout the United States.  She has performed with the St. Luke’s Chamber Orchestra, Palisades Chamber Symphony, Goliard Chamber Ensemble, Ridotto, Amadeus Orchestra, Bach and Handel Chorale, West Village Chorale, New Dominion Chorale, Grace Choral Society, Huntington Choral Society, and Mélomanie.  On the operatic stage she has appeared with DiCapo Opera, Peabody Opera Etudes, Opera Americana, and Mozart & Friends Opera.  An active recitalist known for innovative and adventurous programming, Ms. Hoover has been featured on concert series throughout New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Washington, DC, Virginia, New Mexico, and Colorado.  Winner of the National Federation of Music Clubs’ Young Artists Competition, the Gretchen Hood Memorial Award Competition, and the Paul Robeson Competition, she was also a national semi-finalist in the NATS Artist Award Competition. 

Dr. Hoover earned a B.A. in Medieval Studies magna cum laude from Yale and a D.M.A. in Vocal Performance from Peabody Conservatory where she studied with Phyllis Bryn-Julson, with additional studies at Aspen Music School, the Mozarteum, SongFest, and the Innsbruck Baroque Academy.  She has studied with Rosa Lamoreaux, Dan Pressley, Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet, Trish McCaffrey, and Ashley Putnam.  Coaches include Pierre Vallet, Yelena Kurdina, Pablo Zinger, Gillian Cookson, William Sharp, and Ernest Ligon.  She has also been featured in master classes with Dalton Baldwin, Martin Katz, Graham Johnson, and Paul Sperry.  Her training in voice science includes clinical observation at the Johns Hopkins Center for Laryngeal and Voice Disorders and with Singing Voice Specialists Margaret Baroody and Anat Keidar, and participation in Voice Foundation Symposia.  Her somatic training includes long-time study of yoga and Alexander Technique, a certification in Pilates matwork from PhysicalMind Institute, and certification in Body Mapping from Andover Educators under the mentorship of Barbara Conable.     

As a vocal educator, Dr. Hoover’s teaching ranges from studio instruction to workshops and master classes.  Currently serving as President of the National Association of Teachers of Singing’s New York City chapter and Associate Editor of the New York Singing Teachers’ Association’s VOICEPrints, she has presented clinics and workshops for educational and professional organizations including Washington Opera’s Summer Institute, the Voice Foundation, the National Association of Teachers of Singing, the Royal School of Church Music, Shenandoah Conservatory, Concordia Conservatory, Levine School of Music, Wilmington Music School, and as a keynote speaker at the 2005 Andover Educators Conference.  Most recently she chaired NATS-NYC’s April 2011 celebration of World Voice Day, an interdisciplinary workshop entitled “Body Issues/Somatic Solutions: Tools for the Singing Studio.”  She has also designed and taught semester courses in “Bodywork for Singers” and “Body Awareness in Singing.”  Past positions include Head of Vocal Studies at Washington National Cathedral (where she developed and implemented a course of solo vocal study for 40 professional boy and girl choristers), and voice faculty at Concordia Conservatory, Levine School of Music, Wilmington Music School, Jersey City State College, CAP 21, National Cathedral/St. Albans Schools, and Madeira School.  She is a member of the Voice Foundation, MENC, NYSSMA, AMS, and Andover Educators as well as Pi Kappa Lambda and Mu Phi Epsilon.    

Dr. Hoover is also a music journalist; her reviews and articles have been published in the Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, VOICEPrints, Peabody Magazine, and Johns Hopkins Magazine.  She has written program notes for organizations including Symphony Space, Tilles Center, Strathmore Hall, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, and Concordia Conservatory, and is a contributor to the upcoming edition of Grove Dictionary of American Music.  She is Guest Lecturer at C.W. Post’s Hutton House, where she has partnered with the Tilles Center to build audiences for classical music through pre-concert lectures and classes.  Her doctoral research examined the premiere and reception of Joseph Haydn’s cantata Scena di Berenice in late 18th century London.  Dr. Hoover’s subsequent research has focused on the history of concert life in London, Paris, and Vienna from the late 18th through the 19th centuries, particularly the audiences, performance practices and programming of the mid- 19th century art song recital.