Program Books/Julia Bullock
Julia Bullock, a woman with light olive skin and dark curly hair tied up, wearing a pearl necklace, smiles into the camera.

Julia Bullock

Soprano

One of Musical America’s 2021 “Artists of the Year,” soprano Julia Bullock is an American classical singer who “communicates intense, authentic feeling, as if she were singing right from her soul” (Opera News).

Combining versatile artistry with a probing intellect and commanding stage presence, she has headlined productions and concerts at preeminent arts institutions around the world. An innovative curator in high demand from a diverse group of organizations, she is currently Cal Performances’ 2024–25 Artist in Residence, having already performed multiple concerts at UC Berkeley; Bullock has also held positions including collaborative partner of Esa-Pekka Salonen and 2019–20 Artist in Residence at the San Francisco Symphony, 2020–22 Artist in Residence of London’s Guildhall School, and 2018–19 Artist in Residence at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Bullock’s opera debuts include San Francisco Opera in the world premiere of Girls of the Golden West; Santa Fe Opera in Doctor Atomic; Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and Dutch National Opera in The Rake’s Progress; the English National Opera, Teatro Real, and Bolshoi Theatre in the title role of The Indian Queen; and Dutch National Opera, Bregenzer Festspiele, and Park Avenue Armory in the premiere of Michel van der Aa’s Upload.

In concert, she has collaborated with the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, NHK Symphony, Bavarian Radio Symphony, NOR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester, and the London Symphony Orchestras, while her recital highlights include appearances at New York’s Carnegie Hall, Boston’s Celebrity Series, Washington’s Kennedy Center, London’s Wigmore Hall, and the Mostly Mozart and Ojai music festivals.

Her signature projects include Perle Noire: Meditations for Josephine, conceived in collaboration with Peter Sellars, Tyshawn Sorey, and Claudia Rankine; Five Freedom Songs, developed with Jessie Montgomery; and History’s Persistent Voice, which combines the songs of enslaved people with new music by Black American women. Released by Nonesuch, Bullock’s solo album debut, Walking in the Dark, was featured in the New York Times’ list of Best Classical Music Tracks of 2022 and 10 Best Classical Albums of 2022.

Her growing discography also includes Grammy-nominated accounts of West Side Story and Doctor Atomic, as well as the soundtrack of Amazon Prime Video’s 2021 The Underground Railroad, composed by Nicholas Britell. An innovative and in-demand curator, Bullock’s past positions include collaborative partner of Esa-Pekka Salonen and Artist in Residence of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, and work with the San Francisco Symphony and London’s Guildhall School.

Committed to integrating community activism with her musical life, Bullock is also a prominent voice for social consciousness and change.