Shirley Close

Soprano Shirley Close has been Associate Professor of Voice at The Florida State University since 2006, where she has maintained a full studio of excellent singers of doctoral, masters and undergraduate students. Many of her students have sung leading roles in the FSU Opera and appeared as soloists with the FSU Chamber Choir, University Singers, the Tallahassee Community Chorus and the Tallahassee Symphony. Several have continued their careers in opera and participated in Young Artist Programs in Santa Fe, Sarasota, and the Chicago Lyric while others have pursued advanced degrees at major universities and conservatories across the country.

Prior to joining the FSU faculty, Professor Close maintained a busy performing schedule in opera, oratorio and with symphony orchestras across Europe and America. Among others she has performed at the opera houses of Munich, Cologne, the Bayreuth Festival, Berlin, Salzburg, Mannheim, Strasbourg, Nantes, Nice, the Festival d’Orange, Washington, Dallas, Atlanta, and Glimmerglass. She has sung under many renowned conductors including Ricardo Muti, Daniel Barenboim, Wolfgang Sawallisch, James Conlon, John Nelson, Dennis Russell Davies, Julius Rudel, Michael Gielen, Sir David Willcocks, Louis Langrée and others.

She has sung with the symphony orchestras of Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Indianapolis, Buffalo, San Diego, Bonn, Oslo, Stuttgart, Munich. She has performed many times at Carnegie Hall and at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.

Ms. Close holds a Master of Music degree in Voice from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Olivet Nazarene University.

Professor Close maintains a personal website at http://www.shirleyclose.com