Catherine Dupuis

Catherine brings an expressive warmth to her singing, as well as a skilled ability to communicate the emotional content of a lyric. Her unique abilities as a performer are a culmination of her natural talent, as well as her experience and training as an actress and vocalist. While at Indiana University's School of Music (from which she holds a B.S. in both Music and Theatre), she studied with the legendary Eileen Farrell, known not only for her work as one of the great contemporary operatic mezzo-sopranos, but also as one of the foremost interpreters of The Great American Song Book. While at Indiana University, Catherine performed with the highly regarded Singing Hoosiers under the direction of respected music educator Robert Stoll. Catherine worked her way through an M.F.A. in Acting and Movement from Penn State University by doing local voice-overs, jingles and backup recording work in central Pennsylvania studios. In 1985, she moved to New York City.

Since 1994, Catherine has appeared to critical acclaim at popular New York City venues, including Smoke, the Knickerbocker, Chez Suzette, Shelly's NY, Metronome, Cleopatra's Needle, Jilly's NY, La Belle Epoque, Don't Tell Mama, The Triad (formerly Steve McGraw's), Danny's Skylight Room, Eighty-Eight's, the Caviarteria at the Soho Grand and Town Hall for the Mabel Mercer Foundation's Cabaret Convention. She has appeared at the Mohonk Mountain House Jazz on the Mountain (hosted by Michael Bourne of WBGO-Newark, NJ), the Sackets Harbor Jazz Festival, the Montclair (NJ) Women in Jazz Festival, and The Central Penna. Festival of the Arts. From Cole Porter to Sting, Catherine's eclectic taste in musical material often finds her performing a broad spectrum of music. Her repertoire includes jazz standards and American Popular Songs, as well as fresh, contemporary compositions (by David Cantor (Dave's True Story), Bill Mays, Mark Murphy and Russ Kassoff).

Catherine's most recent CD, Moments, is conducted and arranged by Bill Mays; an additional arrangement of “Skylark” by Mr. Kassoff. In his liner notes, Zan Stewart (DownBeat) writes: “Gifted with a stunning alto voice, a stellar sense of time and deep intuition about how to render a lyric, Catherine makes songs come alive. ... [A] rising star to keep your eye on.” About her debut CD, I Hear Music (released May '99), Jerome Wilson (Cadence) wrote: “Her hard swinging style continually reminded me of Annie Ross. If Janis Siegel or Cheryl Bentine ever left the Manhattan Transfer, she'd make a perfect replacement.” Moments and I Hear Music are available on line at: www.catherinedupuis.com, www.cdbaby.com; at Tower Records and Virgin; distributed by NorthCountry.

Catherine has performed regionally and off-Broadway for over two decades. Her national theatrical credits include Laura in Goblin Market (Portland Stage Company), Hodel in Fiddler on the Roof (North Carolina Theatre), Nimue in Camelot (Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera) and Amalia (originally created by Barbara Cook) in the Sheldon Harnick/Jerry Bock hit, She Loves Me (South Jersey Regional Theatre; with Joanna Papada, now V.P. Operations of Manchester Craftsman Guild in Pittsburgh, PA). In New York, Catherine appeared in Daydreams, an innovative show about Doris Day. The sold-out show was covered by the New Yorker, The Daily News and The New York Post. She created and continues to perform a one-woman show based on Native American issues and her Mohawk/Ojibwa ancestry. Catherine is proud to have been a co-founder and the first Managing Director of the highly acclaimed off-Broadway Melting Pot Theatre Company. For television, Catherine has been interviewed on “New Jersey's Talking” with Lee Leonard (New Jersey Channel 12) and on “First Music & Arts,” directed and produced by Victor Linklater (APTN - Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, Canada). On radio, she has appeared on Michael Bourne's “Singers Unlimited” (WBGO-Newark, NJ) and on Jim Lowe's “Jim Lowe & Company” taped in New York for national syndication. Catherine received a 2001 nomination for best vocal jazz album (I Hear Music) from the independent music network, Just Plain Folks. Show less