Your path: Maria Manzo-Kissinger
Maria Manzo-Kissinger
Marylhurst Concert Chorale
B.A. Music Education, Eastern Washington University
M.M. Choral Conducting, Eastern Washington University
D.A. Chorale Conducting and Piano, University of Northern Colorado
Professional Activities
Dr. Maria Manzo is equally at home as a choral conductor, pianist, and vocalist. She is currently the Music Director for St. Joseph Catholic Church in Vancouver, where she directs five choirs, is the vocal coach for the Parish Cantors, and is the Parish pianist and organist. Under her direction, the Parish Choir has released three compact disc recordings and has toured both nationally and internationally.
Dr. Manzo is also co-founder and Music Director of the Bravo! Vancouver Concert Series. Since 1993, the Bravo! Chorale and Orchestra have performed such major works as Handel’s Messiah, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and many others. Under her baton, the Bravo! Chorale recently released their second compact disc recording, Hear My Prayer; the American Spiritual.
As a pianist and chamber musician, Dr. Manzo has performed with the Bravo! Vancouver Concert Series and in concerts throughout the United States and in Europe. She and her husband, Dr. Michael Kissinger, perform regularly as both conductors and instrumentalists with the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra in Croatia.
Dr. Manzo is recognized for her extensive scholarship on the American Negro Spiritual, and is an authority on the music of composer and arranger Jester Hairston, composer of Amen and other well-known spirituals.