Renée Fleming is one of the most highly acclaimed singers of our time, performing on the stages of the world’s greatest opera houses and concert halls. Honored with four Grammy® awards and the US National Medal of Arts, Renée has sung for momentous occasions from the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony to the Diamond Jubilee Concert for Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. In 2014, she brought her voice to vast new audience as the first classical artist ever to sing The Star-Spangled Banner at the Super Bowl.
In recent years, Renée has become known as a leading advocate for research at the intersection of arts, health, and neuroscience, winning Research!America’s Rosenfeld Award for Impact on Public Opinion. In 2020, Renée launched Music and Mind LIVE, a weekly online interview show exploring the connections between arts, human health, and the brain. In 19 episodes, the show amassed more than 650,000 views, from 70 countries. Renée was inspired to launch the series by the Sound Health initiative she leads as Artistic Advisor to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, in partnership with the NIH and the NEA. She has given presentations with scientists and practitioners on the connection of arts and health around the world.
In addition to her work with the Kennedy Center, Renée leads SongStudio at Carnegie Hall, an intensive program for young singers and pianists dedicated to the art of the song. She is Co-Director of the Aspen Opera Center and VocalArts at the Aspen Music Festival. Renée’s book, The Inner Voice, was published by Viking Penguin in 2004, and is now in its sixteenth printing. It is also published in France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Poland, Russia, and China.
Known for bringing new audiences to classical music and opera, Renée has starred in and hosted an array of television and radio broadcasts, including The Met: Live in HD and Live from Lincoln Center. Her voice is featured on the soundtracks of Best Picture Oscar winners The Shape of Water and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. This seventeen-time Grammy nominated artist has recorded everything from complete operas and song recitals to jazz and indie rock. During the pandemic, Renée’s performances on digital platforms have included streamed online concerts for the Metropolitan Opera, the Kennedy Center, Lyric Opera of Chicago, LA Opera, and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
Renée’s other awards include the Fulbright Lifetime Achievement Medal, Germany’s Cross of the Order of Merit, Sweden’s Polar Music Prize, France’s Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur, and honorary doctorates from Yale, Northwestern, Harvard, Duke, and Carnegie Mellon Universities, and the University of Pennsylvania, the Eastman School of Music, and The Juilliard School.
