Mezzo-soprano Amanda Crider has been recognized for her “gleaming vocalism” (Boston Globe), “star acting” (Urban Milwaukee), and “superbly clear diction and warmly burnished timbre” (South Florida Classical Review). In demand for performances of classical and contemporary opera alike, Ms. Crider created the role of Alma in Keeril Makan and Jay Scheib’s Persona in its world premiere with the Beth Morrison Projects and later at LA Opera, about which the New York Times remarked, “Amanda Crider made a winsome, vulnerable, and when the story turns dark, wildly volatile Alma,” and San Francisco Classical Voice declared, “Crider’s performance was a tour-de-force for its sustained vocal luster, dramatic variation, and sheer amount of singing.” Performances in the 2021-22 season include the role of Penelope in a new opera by composer Mary Prescott, A Survivor’s Odyssey with White Snake Projects, soloist in Mozart’s Requiem with Elgin Symphony and Amarillo Symphony, and multiple appearances with the GRAMMY® nominated ensemble Seraphic Fire, including Hildegard von Bingen’s Ordo Virtutum in a new staging by Francesca Zambello. Most recently, Crider performed with Apollo’s Fire in Allure: The Three Amandas with sopranos Amanda Forsythe and Amanda Powell. Additional recent appearances included a debut with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, soloist in Handel’s Messiah with Jacksonville Symphony and a duo recital with countertenor, Reginald Mobley. Crider has been seen as the title character in L’incoronazione di Poppea at Florentine Opera, a role that she “wielded with beauty and charisma” (Voix des arts). Boston University News Service declared her “the true star” for her leading role in Boston Lyric Opera’s production of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Greek, and Opera News lauded her “beautiful work” and “agility” playing the English Teacher in Gregory Spears and Kathryn Walat’s 2019 recording of Paul’s Case, a role which Crider premiered with the Prototype Festival and Urban Arias in 2013. A busy soloist and recitalist, Crider has appeared regularly with Seraphic Fire, Apollo’s Fire, the Bach Festival Society of Florida, the International Contemporary Ensemble, the Cooperstown Chamber Music Festival, the Symphony Orchestras of Eugene, Savannah, Charlotte, Syracuse, Charleston, Amarillo, Southwest Michigan and Jacksonville; and Philharmonic Orchestras of Louisiana, Carnegie Mellon and Greeley. She made her Carnegie Hall debut in the fall of 2007 singing as mezzo soloist in Messiah with the New England Symphonic Ensemble, and returned the following season as soloist in Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass. She has performed as a soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Bach’s B minor Mass, Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem and Mass in C minor, Britten’s Phaedra, Bach’s St. John Passion, Bernstein’s Jeremiah Symphony and Ravel’s Chansons Madécasses, and has been a featured recitalist on the Trinity Church Concerts at One Series and with Five Boroughs Music Festival. Of her New World Symphony performance of de Falla’s El Amor Brujo in 2014, South Florida Classical Review wrote, “Amanda Crider’s smoky mezzo-soprano assayed the flamenco vocal solos with gutsy abandon.” Ms. Crider’s first foray into the operatic world as L’Enfant in L’Enfant et les Sortilèges at the Tanglewood Music Center was hailed by Opera News as “delightful,” with the Boston Globe stating she sang with “ineffable tenderness.” Since then, she has delighted audiences in the roles of Angelina (La Cenerentola), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro), Sesto (Handel Giulio Cesare), the title role in Carmen, Nellie Forbush (South Pacific), Diana (Orpheus in the Underworld), Speranza/Pastore #3 (Monteverdi L’Orfeo), Siébel (Faust), Olga (Eugene Onegin), Prince Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus), Laurey (Oklahoma) and Mallika (Lakmé) at companies including the Dallas Opera, Orlando Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Knoxville Opera, Opera Omaha, Nevada Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera and Eugene Opera, Anchorage Opera and Opera Boston, New York City Opera, Castleton Festival and Glimmerglass Opera. Ms. Crider was a grant recipient from the Pittsburgh Concert Society, and a finalist in both the Joy in Singing Debut Artist Competition and the Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition. She was a finalist in the José Iturbi International Voice Competition, the 2nd Place Winner in the Shreveport Opera Singer of the Year Competition, Recipient of the Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition David and Ingrid Kosowsky Award, Finalist in the Oratorio Society of New York Vocal Competition and Center for Contemporary Opera Competition, and a Recipient of a Richard F. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshana Foundation. Crider is also the Founder and Artistic Director of Miami’s Art Song concert series, IlluminArts.