Dawn Padmore (born Dawn Mai Padmore, Monrovia, Liberia, February 17, 1967) is a Liberian classical singer primarily known as a recitalist.Profile of Dawn Padmore on welcomeliberia.com Accessed February 3, 2010
Padmore has appeared in a variety of concert situations featuring African music, including a performance as part of New York's "African Music Symposium" in 2006Bernard Holland, The New York Times: "Dawn Padmore's resonating soprano voice in "Miniatures on Motherhood" seemed uncomfortably big for the piece at hand, but one liked her stage presence"Richard Donald Smith, PhD "A Concert of Shared Multi-Cultures: Akin Euba, His Circle, and Beyond",at Teachers College, Columbia University New York City on worldmusiccentral.org, May 19, 2006: "The concert featured four works of Akin Euba’s, including two solo piano compositions that he performed himself, the world premiere of his Study in Polyrhythm No. 3, for flute and piano, expertly played by Ms. Falzon and Ms. Hong, and Contemplating Life, for soprano and piano, well sung by Dawn Padmore".
In 2007 she appeared at Washington DC's Kennedy Center while, in April 2008, she sang for Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Desmond Tutu in Minneapolis. The Toronto Star described her part in the program as "a series of musical confections smartly wrapped in Liberian-born and New York-based Dawn Padmore's silky soprano" and he concluded: "and Dawn Padmore should be encouraged to visit us as often as possible..."John Terauds, "West African music intrigues", Toronto Star.
Her operatic roles have included the Countess (The Marriage of Figaro), Lady with the Cake Box in Dominick Argento's Postcard from Morocco, Elettra (Idomeneo), Sister Angelica (Suor Angelica), the Radical Woman in Chandler Carter's No Easy Walk to Freedom, and Orunmila in Nigerian composer Akin Euba's world premiere presentation of Orunmila's VoicesJohn Harvith, " Orunmila's Voices ", University of Pittsburgh article on chronicle.pitt.edu accessed February 3, 2010 in New Orleans in 2002, where her performance was regarded as "a highlight of the evening".New Orleans Times-Picayune
Notes
References Bernard Holland, "For One Composer, the Power of African Music Is Endless",The New York Times, 23 January 2006) Accessed February 3, 2010
External links Dawn Padmore's personal website