ME
Dr. Emily Isaacson is fiercely committed to reimagining classical music for today’s audience. She is founder and artistic director of Classical Uprising, a performing arts collective that believes classical music must rise up, challenge current norms, and re-envision where, how, and for whom we are making music. Classical Uprising serves over 6,000 musicians and music-lovers through its programs Oratorio Chorale, a symphonic chorus and professional orchestra, Portland Bach Experience, a series of immersive music festivals, and Horizon Voices, a youth choral program for singers K-12. One of only a handful of female conductors (and moms) in the country, Isaacson’s productions are designed to cultivate community, nurture individual growth, and feed our hunger for connections.
Isaacson was named the 2018 Maine Artist of the Year by the Maine Arts Commission, one of 50 Mainers Leading the State by Maine Magazine, and the 2018 face of Maine’s Women’s Work. In 2008 Isaacson helped to launch Roomful of Teeth, a GRAMMY-winning new vocal music ensemble, and in 2015 and 2018 (2022 pending) won third place in the American Prize in Choral Conducting.
She has taught at Clark University, Bowdoin College, and the University of Illinois. A St. Andrews Society Scholar, Isaacson holds a masters degree in musicology from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland; a masters degree in conducting from the University of Oregon; and a doctorate in conducting from the University of Illinois. She lives in Portland, ME with her husband, daughter, and son. Isaacson belongs to Beyond Artists, a coalition of artists that donates a percentage of their concert fees to organizations they care about. She supports the Natural Resources Council of Maine and Alight Humanitarian Relief through her performances.
Additional Content:
An interdisciplinary, interfaith look at the Binding of Isaac story in Visual Art, Literature, and Music. A multimedia concert exploring the connections between Judaism, Christianity and Islam through the relationship of Abraham and Isaac.
Amazing Grace: The American Spiritual
Part multimedia concert, part community event, Amazing Grace is a customized artistic experience tracing the history of Black spirituals from Pre-Emancipation to the Black Lives Matter movement using visual art, music, prose, and poetry.
Called the “ideal orchestra concert for young children,” the Nutcracker Experience is an immersive concert for the whole family: part-concert, part-dance-party, part-community celebration
Thanks in Variations is a personally branded smartphone app and sound installation featuring recorded voices strategically “staged” in geoshapes so that the sounds overlap, intensify, fade, and layers.
Institution/Business Type:
Artist / Creative (Individual)
Legal Status:
Commercial / For profit - Sole proprietorship
Year Founded:
2010
Institution/Business Type:
Artist / Creative (Individual)
Legal Status:
Commercial / For profit - Sole proprietorship
Year Founded:
2010
Primary Discipline:
Music - GeneralAdditional Disciplines:
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Fee Range:
$2,000-$20,000State of Residence:
MaineMinimum Number of Performers:
1Maximum Number of Performers:
1