Arwen Myers | soprano
Praised for her “crystalline tone and delicate passagework” (San Francisco Chronicle), soprano Arwen Myers captivates audiences with her timeless artistry and exquisite interpretations. Transmitting a warmth and “deep poignancy” (Palm Beach Arts Paper) onstage, Arwen shines in solo performance across the US and beyond. With outstanding technique and mastery of a wide range of vocal colors, Arwen’s dazzling oratorio and solo appearances feature repertoire from the baroque to modern day, and everything in between. Her history includes appearances with Portland Baroque Orchestra, Early Music Vancouver, Pacific MusicWorks, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra & Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, working with such notable conductors as Nicholas McGegan, Monica Huggett, David Fallis, John Butt, David Hill, Scott Allen Jarrett, Erick Lichte & Matthew Dirst.
Recent and upcoming solo highlights include Handel with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra; Bach & Purcell with Portland Baroque Orchestra; Vivaldi, Monteverdi & Gabrieli with Early Music Vancouver; Handel with Oregon Bach Festival; and Fauré with Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Arwen featured as a soloist alongside Vancouver’s award-winning Chor Leoni in the world premiere of Zachary Wadsworth’s JUNO award-nominated armistice oratorio When There is Peace, which received national broadcast across Canada, and also in Vivaldi's festive cantatas with Early Music Vancouver on an all-female tour under the direction of Monica Huggett. Of her title role in Handel’s Semele with American Bach Soloists Academy in 2018, San Francisco Classical Voice noted, “some of these star turns were shiny indeed, with soprano Arwen Myers leading the way... her musicality and demure demeanor remained a renewable pleasure.”
An exceptionally talented and generous chamber musician, Arwen features with some of the nation’s premiere ensembles, including Seraphic Fire, Bach Akademie Charlotte & Bach Collegium San Diego, and Spire Chamber Ensemble, and she is the sole vocalist in acclaimed Portland-based new music ensemble Fear No Music. Arwen’s impressive range and depth of feeling shine in her many performances of new music, which include the world premieres of two title roles written specifically for her by celebrated composer Robert Kyr: Paradiso (Beatrice) in 2016 and Passion According to an Unknown Witness (Other Mary) in 2019. She has also enjoyed solo roles in world premiere performances and recordings of pieces by Renée Favand-See, Will White & Emerson Eads with Northwest Art Song; by Michel Petrossian with Sacred Music at Notre Dame; by Don Freund at Indiana University; and by GRAMMY-award winning J.J. Wright on his Billboard chart-topping commercial release O Emmanuel.
A native of Augusta, Georgia, Arwen holds advanced degrees from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she studied with Alan Bennett and Patricia Brooks Havranek. Based in Portland, Oregon, she is Executive and co-Artistic Director of Northwest Art Song. Arwen belongs to Beyond Artists, a coalition of artists that donates a percentage of their concert fee to organizations they care about, and is an individual member of 1% of the Planet. Arwen is represented by Aligned Artistry.
