DEANNA RELYEA - Artistic Director of Edgefest and KCH Founder
Mezzo-soprano Deanna Relyea is the founder of KCH, recently retiring as its Artistic Director after 32 years. She continues to perform regularly at KCH and serves as Artistic Director of the internationally-acclaimed Edgefest music festival. Deanna has appeared on concert series and with symphony orchestras in the region and throughout Canada. She frequently tours with her brother, the celebrated Canadian bass baritone Gary Relyea, and his wife Anna, as the “Voices-Relyea,” performing in festivals and concert series throughout Canada. Many composers have written for her and her forays into improvisation have taken her to NYC where she has appeared at John Zorn’s Stone and at Brooklyn’s Roulette in performances with prominent improvisers and composers. She is a featured singer on Jason Hwang’s CD VOICE.
Prior to taking the reins as Artistic & Executive Director in 2019, Monica was an active member of the Kerrytown Concert House community for over 20 years as a performer, producer, studio teacher, and volunteer. Most recently, she has served as the newest creator and director of KCH’s popular cabaret concert series, Wine, Women, and Song! As a regional artist, Monica’s versatile singing and engaging performances have spanned a broad scope of genres from opera roles at the Lincoln Center Institute in New York City, to orchestral solo appearances with symphonies in Adrian, Toledo, Ann Arbor, and Graz, Austria, to jazz gigs at the Detroit Institute of Arts, and to cabaret clubs like Davenport’s in Chicago. Also a seasoned voice teacher, she held a long-term appointment on the voice faculty of Eastern Michigan University, and maintained a private voice studio in the Ann Arbor area for over two decades. Additionally, she is the Founder and Director of Front and Center Cabaret Works, LLC, a performing arts organization whose mission is to develop communication skills and self-confidence in young performers through the act of cabaret performance. A Michigan native, Monica lives in Ann Arbor with her husband, John, and daughter, Delaney, and holds a Master’s Degree with Highest Honors in voice performance from The University of Michigan where she continues to build artistic connections with students and faculty. Monica believes passionately that Kerrytown Concert House brings live performance to music lovers in an up close and personal way that is like no other in Ann Arbor! She enjoys building upon the concert house’s rich artistic history while also helping it expand and grow in meaningful, impactful and delightful ways.