Lisa Reagan is an American singer, musician, composer, and professor of voice. Working in musical genres ranging from classical to new age, she has released eight albums. She performed with the Washington National Opera for more than 20 years.[1]
Early life and education
As a child in Oklahoma City, Reagan caught the attention of, and studied under Dr. Clarence Burg, Dean of Music and professor of piano at Oklahoma City University.[2] She took acting classes at the historic Mummers Theater,[3] and studied voice with Florence Birdwell, who also taught Kristin Chenoweth and Kelli O'Hara. After obtaining her bachelor's degree in voice and piano at Oklahoma City University, Reagan earned a master's degree in opera and vocal performance from the University of Maryland's Opera Studio.[4] Reagan was also Miss Oklahoma on her first try, having just turned 19 in that year's Miss America Pageant.[5]
In 2021 Reagan performed the role of the Cantor in the Canterbury Voices' world premiere performance Of Perpetual Solace, composed by Edward Knight and librettist M.J. Alexander. The production, which honored people of Oklahoma City affected by the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing,[8] won the 2022 American Prize in Choral Performance.[9] Reagan's world music/chant album Shunia earned the Silver Award in World Fusion Music at the 2021 COVR Visionary Awards.[10]
Academic career and teaching
Reagan was a professor of voice at the Shenandoah Conservatory of Music from 1998-2008.[11] She was subsequently a professor of voice at the Wanda L. Bass School of Music at Oklahoma City University.[12] In 2013, she was invited to perform at the Salzburg Music Festival in Austria, and while there conducted classes in opera; performing and teaching there again in 2018. In May 2022 she taught a Masterclass in acting for opera singers at Accademia dell'Arte in Arezzo, Italy, which she reprised in 2023.[13]
Personal life
Reagan and her husband Greg Love live in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Aspen, Colorado.[14]