Run down the set list for soprano Julia Bullock's April 3 recital at the Music Academy of the West, and you'll see some familiar names. Schubert, of course. Gabriel Fauré. Samuel Barber. But keep reading, and you may be a bit startled to find Billie Holiday, Alberta Hunter, and Nina Simone.
Yes, Bullock will be singing the blues, as well as song cycles by classical masters. Like so many performers of her age (she's in her early thirties), she isn't all that confined by genre boundaries. What's important to her is that those songs were all cowritten and originally performed by powerful women. "One overarching theme in this program highlights the complex journey towards self-actualization, and releasing your unbridled voice," she said in a recent email interview with the Independent.
Widely acclaimed for her gorgeous voice and emotionally charged performances — Opera News compared her to Dawn Upshaw, declaring "every note Bullock sings is charged with meaning" — the biracial St. Louis native is no stranger to this area. She sang with the New York Philharmonic during a 2015 concert at the Santa Barbara Bowl and performed a new work by jazz composer Tyshawn Sorey at last year's Ojai Music Festival.