Leah Crane

Indianapolis vocalist Leah Crane is well known to audiences in the Hoosier state, throughout the Midwest, and beyond. The versatile singer studied at the renowned IU Jacobs School of Music. Equally at home on the international concert stage, in commercial recording studios, and in faith communities, she is also the lead vocalist for Pavel & Direct Contact Latin Jazz and Salsa.

Following her collegiate musical studies, Leah embarked on a varied and extensive career as a professional vocal soloist and choral artist. She has been featured as soloist in Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Leonard Bernstein’s Mass and Chichester Psalms, Poulenc’s Gloria, Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise, John Rutter’s Mass of the Children, Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Haydn’s The Seasons, Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, Ned Rorem's Evidence of Things Not Seen, and Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915.

In 2013, she was selected to be the soprano soloist in the release of composer Carson Cooman’s In Beauty Walking, recorded in the Czech Republic with Maestro Kirk Trevor and the Slovak National Symphony Orchestra. In 2019, she appeared as soloist in Carissimi’s historic mid-17th century oratorio, Jephte with Alchymy Viols. Most recently, she was a soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Indy Baroque Orchestra and Lafayette Symphony Orchestras, in Arvo Pärt’s groundbreaking oratorio, Passio, as well as with Anderson Symphony Orchestra’s Christmas Pops concert in 2019.

Her versatility shines in recent projects as the vocalist for Latin Jazz & Salsa band, Pavel & Direct Contact. Leah is an accomplished studio session singer, and she can often be heard on national promotional recordings for various music publishers, including Walt Disney, Hal Leonard, Beckenhorst, Lorenz, Alfred, Carl Fischer, and Shawnee Press. She is currently recording a solo album of jazz and Brazilian standards with Chicago based producer/arranger Paul Langford.

Throughout central Indiana, Leah continues her work as a musician in faith-based communities, singing as a soloist in many churches and synagogues. She is currently the Contemporary Worship leader at the historic Tabernacle Presbyterian Church. In addition to her many musical pursuits, she is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker at IU Health’s Riley Hospital for Children, having earned a graduate degree in Social Work from Indiana University. She and her husband Jeff reside in Indianapolis with their two children, Karis and Carson.

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