About Zia Singers

 

Zia Singers is a modern Santa Fe women's chorus that produces powerful and memorable concerts featuring diverse choral works and contemporary composers.

Zia Singers enrich their sound with vocal and instrumental guest performers and enjoy collaborating with other choirs. Besides performing a repertoire from classical, traditional, international, Broadway, and pop, the Zias aim to introduce exciting new choral compositions to New Mexico audiences so that listeners feel connected to the music, the singers, and one another.

 

Zia Singers Spring 2019 Concert Finale

 

 

 

John Tiranno, Artistic Director

 

 

 

 

Hailed by The New York Times as “ardent and mellifluous” as well as a “clear-voiced tenor,” some of his recent and upcoming singing engagements include Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and the role of Tamino (The Magic Flute) with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Joann Falletta, Handel’s Messiah with the Nashville Symphony, Messiah, and Berlioz’s Roméo et Juliette with the Santa Fe Symphony, the role of Goro (Madama Butterfly) with Opera Southwest, and numerous performances with ChatterABQ. Highlights of his international appearances include his European debut in Rome singing the Saint Saëns Requiem (Festival Internazionale di Musica e Arte Sacra), his South American debut in São Paulo, Brazil singing Mozart’s Missa in C (at Auditório Ibirapuera), Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 in Ontario, Canada (Brott Music Festival), and recitals at King Abdullah University of Science & Technology in Jedda, Saudi Arabia. He has been a part of numerous world premiere performances, including creating three operatic roles for Norwegian composer Gisle Kverndokk - The Young Man in Upon this handful of Earth, Trouble in Max and Moritz, and the Man in the Mirror in Supersize Girl (all with New York Opera Society), as well as singing the world premiere of Gregory Walker’s The Passion According to St. Toscanini (Boulder Philharmonic).

 

John lived in New York City for 14 years and, during that time, was involved in choral music at the very highest levels as a choir member, section leader, soloist, and conductor. He has worked with famed choral and orchestral ensembles such as the New York Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Voices of Ascension, Musica Sacra, the Oratorio Society of New York, and the American Symphony Orchestra, performing in venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Symphony Space, St. Peter’s Basilica and Archbasilica of St. John Lateran (Rome, Italy), as well as Trinity Wall Street, The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Temple Emanu El, St. Thomas Church, and the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola.

 

John currently lives in Santa Fe and directs the choir program at the Gonzales Community School. He is a substitute conductor at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi as well as a frequent choral clinician with the Santa Fe Symphony Chorus. He maintains an active private voice studio and is part of the Young-Tiranno Duo that he started with his wife, violinist Elizabeth Young, in 2018.

 

 

 

Deborah Wagner, Accompanist

 

 

A native of Las Vegas, Nevada, Deborah completed her Doctorate of Musical Arts at Arizona State University after having obtained degrees from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and Northwestern University.

Since moving to Santa Fe in 2006, she has performed with Santa Fe New Music, the Santa Fe Symphony, the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, the Placitas Artists Series, Coro de Camera, New Mexico Performing Arts Society, and the Sangre de Christo Chorale. Deborah has been on the faculties of New Mexico Highlands University and Santa Fe University of Art and Design, in addition to maintaining a private teaching studio.

She regularly works with singers and instrumentalists in the Santa Fe area and has toured with soloists and choirs nationwide.
 

 

 

 

 

During the pandemic, the Zia Singers conducted Zoom rehearsals on Tuesday mornings and produced virtual choir videos of each piece we worked on. The videos can be viewed on our YouTube channel!

 

 

 

The Zia Singers promote joy by championing the love and craft of women's choral music through public performance, education, and outreach.