Faculty Profile
PAMELA DELLAL

Vocal Studies, Historical Performance

Pamela Dellal teaches in the Vocal Studies and Historical Performance departments at Longy. She is a mezzo-soprano with an interest in language, translation, and the context behind the music she sings. Her performance repertoire covers twelve centuries, and she has performed with the Sequentia medieval ensemble in Europe. At Longy, she teaches students to communicate with their audiences and find their niche in the world of music.

“As performers, our emotions advocate for the piece, and we have the privilege of communicating those emotions through our unique, individual sound.

One of the amazing things about teaching historical performance—as well as one of the challenges of it—is that there’s a different technique for each performance system or tradition. That revelation transformed my technique, as I found all sorts of different colors I could use in each repertoire. I’m interested in helping my students discover what their bodies and voices can do, which gives them a more sophisticated suite of skills than most vocalists study. We don’t throw away technique; we work to free rather than constrict ourselves.

I’m so happy to teach at a school where we encourage students to be passionate, learn with curiosity, and figure out what they’re capable of doing.”