Photo: Allana Taranto, Ars Magna Studio

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“Otherworldly” mezzo-soprano Clare McNamara brings her versatility to a wide variety of early and new repertoire throughout the United States and abroad. She has maintained affiliations with groups such as Skylark, Emmanuel Music, Cut Circle, Lorelei Ensemble, The Washington Bach Consort, Tapestry, Blue Heron, the Staunton Music Festival, and The Boston Camerata.

A member of the H+H chorus since 2014, Clare has appeared as alto soloist in Bach’s Mass in B minor and his Missa Brevis in G major (Harry Christophers), where she was praised for her “rich timbre and expressive phrasing” and was labeled a “vocal highlight” (Boston Classical Review). Clare’s “astonishing” voice is featured in the 2020 “pathbreaking” release of Cut Circle’s compendium of the works of Johannes Ockeghem (Gramophone Magazine); she also joined the group for numerous European festival performances. She was hailed as “pure-toned” and “as good as they come” (MusicWeb International) for her solo Hildegard chant on the Skylark album “Seven” (2018), one of three GRAMMY-nominations for the ensemble. Clare appears on eight other albums with Skylark, including “Clear Voices in the Dark,” the first US recording of Francis Poulenc’s tour-de-force Figure Humaine (2024). During her nine years with Lorelei, she collaborated with A Far Cry and the Boston Symphony Orchestra/Andris Nelsons (Symphony Hall, Tanglewood, and Carnegie Hall). She joined Emmanuel Music for Bachfest in Leipzig, Germany, in June 2024.

In January, 2021, Clare appeared as a soloist for the United Nations’ Chamber Music Society’s concert for the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, globally broadcast online. Other online concerts have included pandemic-tide digital music creation: a vocal recital with her husband Ian Garvie (piano), a program of women’s trios for Skylark’s digital subscription platform, Skylark+, and a concert of early 3-voice repertoire with new ensemble Ourania presented by Boston's SoHIP.

Clare holds an A.B. in Music from Princeton University and an M.M. in Early Music Performance from the Longy School of Music of Bard College. She resides in the Greater Boston area with her husband, mother, and infant son.

CLARE'S WEBSITE