Margaret Ozaki Graves
Style: World; Pop; Opera; Jazz; Folk; Rock; Classical; Musical Theatre
Title: Director of Education & Community Engagement at Central City Opera
Bio:
Soprano Margaret Ozaki Graves is known for a "voice that is crystal clear and very well produced" (Opus Colorado). Both as an artist and producer, Margaret has a special interest in contemporary music and has premiered works by composers including Michael Torke, Ruben Piirainen (for whom she was also a contributing librettist), Robert Denham, Paul Fowler, Ann Phillips, Michael Ching, Moiya Callahan, and Minoru Miki. She was soprano soloist in the world premiere of famed Beat drummer Jerry Granelli's Warrior Songs. She believes in collaborative curation, creating works with and for Japanese Arts Network, Central City Opera, UW-Milwaukee, Loveland Opera Theatre, The Arvada Center of the Arts and Humanities, and Lone Tree Arts Center.
Margaret is Associate Director of Education & Community Engagement at Central City Opera. Teaching appointments include Assistant Professor at Ithaca College, Guest Lecturer at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Regional Director and Faculty Artist for Sera Schools Music Programs, and Voice Faculty for the CCM Preparatory Department. Margaret holds a DMA in vocal performance with cognate studies in Japanese Aesthetics and Music from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She holds a Certificate in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University. She completed a summer season as a jump-in artist in Weimar, Germany in 2015 and was a Corbett Foundation Opera Fusion Young Artist at Cincinnati Opera for four seasons. She is a recipient of the Denver Lyric Opera Guild’s Competition Second Prize.
Margaret began her a professional performance career in Japanese drumming, as a member of One World Taiko and then Mirai Daiko, and appeared at Walt Disney World's EPCOT Center, San Francisco Taiko Dojo's World Taiko Festival, Boston Dragon Boat, Colorado Dragon Boat and the North American Taiko Conference's TaikoJam at UC Berkeley. She holds ten-year certification from the Miyagi school in koto and shamisen.
Voice Type: Soprano
Music Styles Taught: World; Pop; Opera; Jazz; Folk; Rock; Classical; Musical Theatre
Availability: I am available as a performer; I have a wait-list for private lessons; I am available as a clinician or presenter
