Masterclass | Judith Bettina, soprano

The American soprano, Judith Bettina, was born to a violinist mother, Lilo Kantorowicz Glick, and a violist father, Jacob Glick, who was noted for his championship of new music. She obtained her Bachelor of Music and her Master of Music degrees from New York’s Manhattan School of Music and initially began performing in New York City.

Judith Bettina is particularly noted for her performances of contemporary classical music. A frequent guest soloist with the Met Chamber Ensemble, she has performed with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony Orchestra, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Münchner Philharmoniker and American Composers Orchestra. She has performed with chamber groups throughout the USA and Europe, including guest appearances with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Bach Chamber Soloists, Speculum Musicae, The Bard Music Festival, Cygnus Ensemble, and The Geneva Music Festival.

Judith Bettina was on the music faculty of Stanford University from 1986 to 1993. Since 2008, she is on the faculty of the Mannes Preparatory Division. Amongst the noted composers who have written works for Judith Bettina’s voice are Charles Wuorinen, Milton Babbitt, Richard Danielpour, and Tobias Picker. Picker, who has described Bettina as “his muse of many years”, wrote his first song for her, a setting of a poem by Goethe. She is married to pianist James Goldsworthy whom she met at Stanford University. The two often perform together both in concerts and recordings. Many of the works they perform together are written specifically for them.

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