Clara Osowski

Mezzo-soprano Clara Osowski, who sings “from inside the music with unaffected purity and sincerity” (UK Telegraph), is an active soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States and Europe.

The 2023/2024 season includes Schubert lieder with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Bach’s St. John Passion for a return to Music of the Baroque led by Dame Jane Glover, a return to LA’s Salastina for Handel’s Messiah, the University of Washington Symphony Orchestra for Clara Schumann lieder, the Bach Christmas Oratorio with Madison Bach Musicians, SongSLAM at National Sawdust, a recital at Augustana University, Bach’s St. John Passion for the South Carolina Bach Choir, Mozart Mass in C minor for a return to the Master Chorale of South Florida, Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius for a return to the Bel Canto Chorus of Milwaukee and Bach’s Mass in B minor with Tenet at St. Jean-Baptiste, NYC.

The 2022/2023 season included her debut with Chicago’s Music of the Baroque in Handel’s Jephtha led by Dame Jane Glover, Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Milwaukee Symphony and Ken David Masur, Beethoven Symphony No. 9 with the Delaware Symphony, the Mozart Requiem and Pärt’s Stabat Mater with the South Dakota Symphony, and appearances with the Bach Society of Minnesota, Madison Bach Musicians, National Lutheran Choir, and Bel Canto Chorus of Milwaukee.

Recent engagements included the Bach Magnificat and Cantatas with Handel & Haydn Society in Boston, Handel’s Messiah for her debut with the Kansas City Symphony, her London debut at Wigmore Hall, Mrs. Herring in Albert Herring with the Minnesota Opera, and in recital with Wu Han & Friends for the Schubert Club in St. Paul.

Career highlights include her appearances with the Milwaukee Symphony, Mid-Columbia Symphony, St. Paul Civic Orchestra, Tulsa Signature Symphony, Winona Symphony Orchestra, Winston Salem Symphony, Back Bay Chorale, and the Mobile Symphony Orchestra. Clara is a frequent collaborator of the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, and with them she has performed Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, and Dominick Argento’s orchestral song cycles Casa Guidi and A few words about Chekhov.

In 2017, Clara became the first ever American prize winner when she placed second at Thomas Quasthoff’s International Das Lied Competition in Heidelberg, Germany and won the Houston Saengerbund Competition.  In the 2019 Wigmore Hall Song Competition she was awardedThe Ralph Vaughan Williams Society Prize for the best interpretation of songs in English by a British composer and in the 2017 competition the Richard Tauber Prize for the best interpretation of Schubert Lieder.  She won the Radio-Canada People’s Choice Award and third place in the song division at the 2018 Concours Musical International de Montréal. She won the 2014 Bel Canto Chorus Regional Artists Competition in Milwaukee, and was a runner-up in the 2016 Schubert Club Bruce P. Carlson Scholarship Competition.

An active educator, Clara has given masterclasses and convocations at Syracuse University, Muhlenberg College, Seattle University, Concordia College (Moorhead), and North Dakota State University. She was the guest artist in residence at Indiana State University’s 50th Contemporary Music Festival celebrating the music of Libby Larsen and has served on the Aspen Music Festival’s Professional Choral Institute in partnership with Seraphic Fire.

Clara received her Bachelor of Musical Arts degree with emphasis in Voice from North Dakota State University in 2008 where she received the 2022 Horizon Award for great success in her profession, and Master of Arts Degree in Voice from the University of Iowa in 2010. She was recognized as a 2018-2019 McKnight Artist Fellow for Musicians administered by MacPhail Center for Music.

In addition to performing, Clara serves as the Artistic Director of Source Song Festival, a week-long art song festival in Minneapolis, Minnesota and participates in a number of ensembles, including Lumina Women’s Ensemble and Seraphic Fire.