Marika Kuzma, Conductor
I have enjoyed a multifaceted career as a musician: concerts in prestigious venues, collaborations with internationally renowned orchestras, workshops with choirs of all sizes, and teaching one-on-one. Each aspect of my work informs the other, and I aim to create beautiful, meaningful, and memorable experiences with singers, instrumentalists, and fellow artists at all levels of expertise.
As a Conductor, I have led performances of professional and amateur ensembles across the United States and Canada. My repertoire ranges from the chant of Hildegard to the Bach B minor Mass to the Verdi Requiem to Stravinsky Les noces to premieres of works by living composers. Among the venues where I have performed are Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall; Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley, CA; the National Cathedral in Washington D.C.; Stephansdom in Vienna, Austria. Currently, I am most interested in leading projects that combine various art forms and creating events that raise awareness of societal issues.
As a Chorus Master, I have prepared choirs for leading conductors of my generation and rising stars of the current generation. I have collaborated with artists such as Joana Carneiro and the Berkeley Symphony, Gustavo Dudamel and the Simon Bolivar Orchestra; the Mark Morris Dance Group; Nicholas McGegan and the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra; Kent Nagano and the Orchestre symphonique de Montreal. Many of these collaborations have received enthusiastic reviews in the New York Times, Le Devoir, Opera News, San Francisco Chronicle, etc.
As a Choral Clinician I’ve been invited to work with many community, college, and high school choirs in day-long or shorter workshops. Dozens of choirs and their directors have sought out my advice in vocal technique, style, and interpretation for concerts and competitions. I have also published articles, made recordings, and given lectures internationally, particularly related to Slavic choral music.
In recent years, I’ve been coaching singers and conductors in the private studio and zoom setting. I gained some twenty-five years of experience working one-on-one with students while directing the choirs at the University of California, Berkeley, and supervising its vocal performance program. Some of my former students are solo vocalists on major opera stages and recording studios. My conducting students have led symphony, choral, and opera performances across America. While I teach all levels and all ages, I seem to have a special knack for helping singers over 50 and conductors of all ages working through physical obstacles. I’ve also been asked to coach diction to various artists in music and theater. Since I grew up bilingual (Ukrainian-American) in a multi-ethnic neighborhood and have lived in several countries, I speak (and love) many languages.
Inhale.
I believe my unique voice and success as a musician stems from my training as both a singer and instrumentalist, both choral and orchestral conductor, my sensitivity to languages and cultures, and my experience as an actor. Each of these helps bring the music fully to life in performance. I’ve become increasingly attentive to breath and eye contact and the full body in artistic expression whether in solo or group performance.
I received my earliest musical training at home—my family sang together constantly—and at the Hartt School of Music in violin and voice. I then attained a vocal performance degree from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill with further study at the Salzburg Mozarteum and Vienna Hochschule für Musik, and a master’s degree from Stanford University. Later, at Indiana University, I gained a doctorate in choral conducting and trained as an Orchestral Conducting Fellow at the Aspen Music Festival. My voice teachers have included Jane Randolph and Marilyn Taylor. My conducting mentors included Thomas Binkley, Jan Harrington, Gustav Meier, Robert Porco, and Paul Vermel.
Exhale.
I grew up on the East Coast, and after almost thirty years living and working in the San Francisco Bay Area, I’ve just returned to Connecticut.
I look forward to meeting you and making music with you—on either coast. Please feel free to be in touch for coaching and collaborations great and small.
New Inspiration.
I have enjoyed a multifaceted career as a musician: concerts in prestigious venues, collaborations with internationally renowned orchestras, workshops with choirs of all sizes, and teaching one-on-one. Each aspect of my work informs the other, and I aim to create beautiful, meaningful, and memorable experiences with singers, instrumentalists, and fellow artists at all levels of expertise.
As a Conductor, I have led performances of professional and amateur ensembles across the United States and Canada. My repertoire ranges from the chant of Hildegard to the Bach B minor Mass to the Verdi Requiem to Stravinsky Les noces to premieres of works by living composers. Among the venues where I have performed are Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall; Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley, CA; the National Cathedral in Washington D.C.; Stephansdom in Vienna, Austria. Currently, I am most interested in leading projects that combine various art forms and creating events that raise awareness of societal issues.
As a Chorus Master, I have prepared choirs for leading conductors of my generation and rising stars of the current generation. I have collaborated with artists such as Joana Carneiro and the Berkeley Symphony, Gustavo Dudamel and the Simon Bolivar Orchestra; the Mark Morris Dance Group; Nicholas McGegan and the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra; Kent Nagano and the Orchestre symphonique de Montreal. Many of these collaborations have received enthusiastic reviews in the New York Times, Le Devoir, Opera News, San Francisco Chronicle, etc.
As a Choral Clinician I’ve been invited to work with many community, college, and high school choirs in day-long or shorter workshops. Dozens of choirs and their directors have sought out my advice in vocal technique, style, and interpretation for concerts and competitions. I have also published articles, made recordings, and given lectures internationally, particularly related to Slavic choral music.
In recent years, I’ve been coaching singers and conductors in the private studio and zoom setting. I gained some twenty-five years of experience working one-on-one with students while directing the choirs at the University of California, Berkeley, and supervising its vocal performance program. Some of my former students are solo vocalists on major opera stages and recording studios. My conducting students have led symphony, choral, and opera performances across America. While I teach all levels and all ages, I seem to have a special knack for helping singers over 50 and conductors of all ages working through physical obstacles. I’ve also been asked to coach diction to various artists in music and theater. Since I grew up bilingual (Ukrainian-American) in a multi-ethnic neighborhood and have lived in several countries, I speak (and love) many languages.
Inhale.
I believe my unique voice and success as a musician stems from my training as both a singer and instrumentalist, both choral and orchestral conductor, my sensitivity to languages and cultures, and my experience as an actor. Each of these helps bring the music fully to life in performance. I’ve become increasingly attentive to breath and eye contact and the full body in artistic expression whether in solo or group performance.
I received my earliest musical training at home—my family sang together constantly—and at the Hartt School of Music in violin and voice. I then attained a vocal performance degree from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill with further study at the Salzburg Mozarteum and Vienna Hochschule für Musik, and a master’s degree from Stanford University. Later, at Indiana University, I gained a doctorate in choral conducting and trained as an Orchestral Conducting Fellow at the Aspen Music Festival. My voice teachers have included Jane Randolph and Marilyn Taylor. My conducting mentors included Thomas Binkley, Jan Harrington, Gustav Meier, Robert Porco, and Paul Vermel.
Exhale.
I grew up on the East Coast, and after almost thirty years living and working in the San Francisco Bay Area, I’ve just returned to Connecticut.
I look forward to meeting you and making music with you—on either coast. Please feel free to be in touch for coaching and collaborations great and small.
New Inspiration.