Nicole Panizza has emerged as one of the UK’s leading recitalists, scholars, and educators. A Fulbright Award recipient, she completed her postgraduate studies with Roger Vignoles at the Royal College of Music (UK) in 2014. She has since gained international renown for her inter-medial research regarding American song, and the creative exploration of the text-music partnership. Her specialism encompasses the life and work of the poet Emily Dickinson; incorporating performance, publication, and initiatives that promote international engagement and readership.

Nicole has worked for Opera Australia, the Cologne and Covent Garden Opera Awards, and as Education Manager for The Royal Opera, Covent Garden. She is an experienced international research consultant and speaker, with key lectures and presentations in Ireland, Australia, France, Italy, Japan, and the USA. She is also regularly in demand as a vocal and instrumental collaborative pianist, performing in international venues such as the Sydney Opera House, the Lincoln Center, the Royal Opera House, and the National Concert Hall in Dublin. Her research includes the critically-acclaimed albums Nature (2014)with soprano Jane Sheldon, and Emergence -Emily Dickinson (2019) with soprano Nadine Benjamin; and research fellowships held at Harvard University and Manhattan School of Music (USA) in 2010, and The Orpheus Instituut (Belgium) in 2018.

Current ventures feature collaborative projects that explore art song and opera, in both tradition and practice. Select examples include inter-medial performance projects showcasing American poets and composers, a digital archive and monograph exploring practice-led approaches to the performance and study of Emily Dickinson’s poetry and letters, an immersive song project showcasing critical examples of American war, memoriam and remembrance, and an international opera project based on the musical legacy of the Panizza dynasty.

Nicole is the Artistic Director of The Panizza Dynasty Project; and is a creative partner of The International Centre for American Music (Florence, Italy), and Emergence Music, in collaboration with soprano Nadine Benjamin. She currently holds the positions of Assistant Professor, Music (Coventry University, UK); Research Associate of TORCH/Oxford Song Network (University of Oxford, UK); the International Women’s Song Forum, and is a board member of the Emily Dickinson International Society, the Lincolnshire International Chamber Music Festival, and the London Song Festival.

Further information can be found at www.nicolepanizza.com

Keywords: music, performance, cultural agency, literary analysis and criticism (poetics), gender studies, inter-medial collaboration

Mediums: operatic practice; Australian and American chamber music; performance as creative research and practice; music and text analysis (specialising in 20th and 21st century art song)

The transformative power of creative communication lies at the heart of everything I do. I believe, as individuals and communities, our stories deserve to be registered, voiced, embodied, and preserved. My research stems from the desire - as a performer and scholar - to investigate the act of ‘embodied storytelling’, and its role in conveying human experience, relationship, memory, time, place, identity, and legacy.

My Doctoral studies (2004-2014) focused on the study of art song settings of Emily Dickinson’s poetry and letters, with particular attention to the performer’s act of ‘reading’ and ‘translation. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to carry out this research in the UK and USA, which provided a fertile environment to explore alternative techniques, methods, and cultural contexts in which to situate and evaluate my work. Whilst I still actively continue my commitment and contribution to Dickinson-related studies, I have also extended my scholarship and practice to incorporate designs that further advocate the performer, as a vital conduit, in the creation of inter-medial research that places intimate narrative within contemporary locales.

A defining research theme continues to be my passion for the music-text relationship, and the championing of rare and under-represented composers and repertoire. Two internationally-acclaimed albums (Nature (2014), Emergence: Emily Dickinson (2019)), and key presentations and performances (Japan, France, Australia, UK, USA, Belgium) have provided valuable contexts in which to share my work with international audiences, thereby creating potential for new collaborations and exchange. Further, my publication partners (CSP, Vernon Press, Routledge) provide me with the valuable opportunity to write - an important vehicle from which my research can thrive.

My research interests continue to inform, and be informed by, my teaching practice. During the past twenty years I have devised and delivered curricula that encourage students to engage with critical evaluation, and innovative modes of creative collaboration. Living and working in different countries has afforded me the opportunity to observe a range of idiomatic, cultural, and pedagogic contexts. These strategies continue to influence my approach to knowledge transfer, with particularly emphasis on memoir and tradition within progressive contexts.