Deborah Rentz-Moore, mezzo
American mezzo-soprano Deborah Rentz-Moore has been praised for her “deep, radiant clear tone” (Early Music America) and her “effortlessly warm and resonant mezzo, with exquisite control over vibrato” (Boston Classical Review). She enjoys frequent solo collaborations with The Boston Camerata, Emmanuel Music and Aston Magna and has been featured with celebrated ensembles such as The Boston Early Music Festival, Handel & Haydn Society, The Bach Sinfonia, Magnificat Baroque, Voices of Music and the Mark Morris Dance Group. She is thrilled to be making her second appearance with Sounds of Stow.
A member of Emmanuel Music’s famed weekly Bach cantata series since 1999, Ms. Rentz-Moore garnered critical acclaim in the role of Joacim in their 2014 Boston premiere of Handel’s Susanna, as well as in the title role in Mozart’s Apollo et Hyacinthus in 2016. Her 2017-2018 season included a concert of voice and viols with Aston Magna, in addition to The Boston Camerata’s Mediterranean Christmas, Liberty and Love, and Liberty Tree. 2018 appearances include the critically-lauded The Orphic Moment, by Matt Aucoin, for contralto and chamber orchestra at Emmanuel Music and “A Bernstein Celebration” at The University of Rhode Island. Her 2018 performance in “Leonardo da Vinci: A Musical Odyssey” with the Voices of Music was honored as “Best chamber music performance” by San Francisco Classical Voice. Upcoming season highlights include Medieval Christmas music (“Puer Natus Est”), Renaissance/early Baroque music of Italy (“Gloria!”), early American music (“City on the Hill”) with The Boston Camerata and Bach and Harbison with Emmanuel Music.
Recordings include: Aston Magna’s “L’Orfeo: favola in musica 1607” (Centaur), “Cozzolani: Concerti Sacri (1642),” “Cozzolani: Messa Paschale,” “J.S. Bach: Cantatas 62, 45, 140 and 192,” “Cozzolani: Salmi a Otto Voci (1650)” (all on Musica Omnia), “The Golden Harvest” (Glissando), “Feliz Navidad: Christmas from Spain and New Spain,” (Meridian), “The Rose of Sharon” (Harmonia Mundi) and David Patterson’s “#Ferguson” (Albany Records).
Holding a Master of Music in Voice performance from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Arts in Music (voice) and Environmental Science from Skidmore College, Ms. Rentz-Moore has taught on the voice faculty of the University of Rhode Island and the Seacoast Academy of Music, conducted Shaker music manuscript research at Hancock Shaker Village, served as one of the contributing editors of two Shaker music books and an arts-based educational curriculum, and taught vocal music to students ages 5- 18, both as part of school programs and in her voice studio.