Originally from Central New York, Joanna Manring comes from a heritage of singers, pianists, educators, violin-makers and conductors. Her projects tend to fold together literature, music, history and art.
For example, in 2009 Manring created the Jane Austen Singing School for Young Ladies in Skaneateles, Girls from 12–18 years of age perform music from the Georgian era—including “music that Jane Austen and her family loved and sang themselves”—while also working on vocal technique and public speaking skills. Sessions now run in Lexington, KY.
In another project, Manring mined some personal family history to develop a libretto titled "On the Altar of His Country" drawn from letters her fourth-great grandmother wrote to a family friend while he was serving in the Civil War. The piece, set to music by Josh Daniel Coles, is written for soprano, baritone, speaker, and piano quintet.
As a performer, Manring is comfortable with a variety of music styles, from opera to musicals to a one-woman cabaret show called “Divalicious.” She has been described as a “stylish, vibrant” singer by David Gordon of the Carmel Bach Festival. Manring made her summer festival debut in 2009 singing Bach’s Cantata 51, "Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen," at the Skaneateles Chamber Music Festival in New York. A writer for the Syracuse Post Standard commented on her “finesse and poise.” In 2010, she was a guest artist for a performance of Vivaldi’s Gloria (RV 589) at Colorado’s Steamboat Springs Strings Festival. She has also performed with the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra in Ithaca, NY under the baton of Lanfranco Marcelletti.
In Kentucky, Ms. Manring has performed as a soloist with the Lexington Chamber Chorale, in Angela Rice's Easter Cantata as Mary Magdalene in "Thy Will Be Done," and in recital at EKU and Transylvania University. She currently conducts early music ensemble Musick's Company, and serves as music director at Woodland Christian Church. She enjoys working with beginning singers as well as advanced performers.
