Danielle Segen

Mezzo-Soprano

Praised for possessing “extraordinary expressivity, and a beautiful voice” (Long Beach Gazette), mezzo-soprano Danielle Segen is an emerging talent in the Los Angeles music scene. Danielle earned her Bachelor of Music degree at Western Washington University and her Master of Music degree at University of California Los Angeles, where she was seen regularly on the opera stage. Performances included Hermia in Britten’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, Dorabella in Cosí fan tutte, the titular role in both Tragedy of Carmen and in the west coast premiere of William Bolcom’s Lucrezia, Prince Charming in Massenet’s Cendrillon. She also performed the role of Cherubino in the west coast premier of Saverio Mercadante’s I due Figaro in UCLA’s contribution to the Los Angeles-wide “Figaro Unbound” musical celebration of playwright Pierre Beaumarchais’ beloved characters.

Equally at home singing new compositions as she is performing from the standard repertoire of opera and art song, Danielle has been sought after to workshop, record, and perform new works. Recently she partnered with the Contemporary Performance Collective to take part in the world premiere of a new chamber ensemble arrangement of Reena Esmail’s “I Rise: Women in Song”. Other recent collaborations include workshopping and recording selections of rising composer Gabrielle Owens’ “Prophecy of Daniel”, and recording the theme music for “Traces of the Brush,” a critically acclaimed documentary on world renowned Chinese art historian and calligrapher Fu Shen, directed by Eros Zhao and scored by Jeff Kryka.

The last few years have seen Danielle performing in the Los Angeles Armenian community alongside the VEM String Quartet, bringing Armenian art song to local schools and concert venues. She has also returned annually to the Hammer Museum to participate in a concert commemorating the Armenian genocide. As part of the VEM Ensemble Danielle has enjoyed concert tours both in North America and in Armenia, with their 2018-2019 season culminating in the greatly successful world premieres of Artashes Kartalyan’s “Tekeyan Tryptich” and a new string quartet arrangement of Tigran Mansurian’s “Four Hayrens.”