Courtenay Budd
Courtenay Budd's soprano, praised as "a voice for connoisseurs," has been heard with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the National Symphony, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and repeatedly at Carnegie Hall, Spoleto USA, and the Grand Teton and Bard Music Festivals. The recipient of a 2001 Sullivan Award, Ms. Budd won First Prize in the 2001 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, leading to acclaimed recital debuts at Washington, DC’s Kennedy Center, Boston’s Gardner Museum, and New York’s 92nd Street Y, prompting Darrell Rosenbluth of New York Concert Review to applaud: "Ms. Budd effortlessly took New York; the East Coast is secured.”
Critic Wes Blomster calls Courtenay Budd “one of the fastest-rising stars on the American opera stage.” A 1998 Metropolitan Opera National Finalist, her operatic performances include Ilia in Idomeneo at Alice Tully Hall, Baby Doe, Zerbinetta, Zerlina, Pamina, Amy in Little Women, Laurie in the Tender Land, and Marie in The Daughter of the Regiment, with such companies as Central City Opera, Opera Omaha, Atlanta Opera, and the Colorado and Charleston Symphonies. Courtenay Budd is a favorite of audiences and critics at the Spoleto Festival U.S.A., where she has appeared in orchestral concerts and has been a regular on the Dock Street Chamber Music Series, appearing alongside her mentor and collaborator of choice, pianist Charles Wadsworth. The 2002 Festival featured Ms. Budd in the world premier of Osvaldo Golijov's Tenebrae, performed to critical acclaim with Todd Palmer and the St. Lawrence Quartet. Ms. Budd’s chamber music performances include Schönberg's String Quartet #2, I Hear an Army by David Del Tredici, recitals nationwide, and Rachmaninoff songs with pianist Ruth Laredo at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. She has collaborated with symphony orchestras across the United States in the Requiems of Brahms and Mozart, Barber's Knoxville, Summer of 1915, Mozart's Mass in C Minor, Orff's Carmina Burana, Respighi's Laud to the Nativity, Rachmaninoff's The Bells, Strauss' Brentanolieder, Villa Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras, Beethoven's Symphony #9, Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Haydn's Creation.
In spring of 2009 she returned to Spoleto USA for the Chamber Music Series, a gala concert honoring Charles Wadsworth, and Bach’s Cantata 199. She also returned to the Dartmouth Handel Society for Delilah in Handel’s Samson, and appeared in concert with guitarist David Leisner in New York City, as well as opera concerts with the Symphony of the Americas, and further concerts with Mr. Wadsworth. Her 2010 season includes a solo recital with composer David Del Tredici performing his songs at Bargemusic, as well as performances on the Musical Masterworks series in Old Lyme, CT, at the Kravis Center in Palm Beach, FL, and Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville, TN, among others.
Sleep is Behind the Door was named “Lullaby Album of the year” by CDBaby.com. The CD features several distinguished artists including soprano Sylvia McNair and cellist Alisa Weilerstein, and benefits survivors of natural disasters. She also appears on the VMS recording Korngold’s Hollywood Songbook with baritone Steven Kimbrough and pianist Dalton Baldwin. A Georgia native, Courtenay Budd was honored with the 2004 Distinguished Young Alumnus Award from the and the University of the South in Sewanee, TN. She also holds a masters degree from Westminster Choir College. For the latest on where Courtenay is performing or to purchase her CD, take a stroll through her fun web site: courtenaybudd.com
