Barbara Hollinshead

One of the Washington, D.C., area’s finest and best-loved early music singers, mezzo-soprano Barbara Hollinshead is frequently called upon to perform with ensembles throughout the mid-Atlantic region. Recent performances have taken her from New York and Boston to Venice and Vicenza in Italy, and have covered works ranging from medieval Byzantine chant to 20th-century song cycles.

Many of Washington’s leading groups, including the Folger Consort, Washington Chamber Symphony, and Washington Bach Consort, regularly bring Barbara’s warmth, expressiveness and joyful presence to their programs. On the stage she has enjoyed being cast in guises as varied as the triumphant god Juno and Hildegard’s sin-seeking soul, though her most important role is that of a mom to her two young sons.