Catherine brings
an expressive warmth to her singing, as well as a skilled
ability to communicate the emotional content of a lyric. Her
unique abilities as a performer are a culmination of her natural
talent, as well as her experience and training as an actress
and vocalist. While at Indiana University's School of Music
(from which she holds a B.S. in both Music and Theatre), she
studied with the legendary Eileen Farrell, known not only
for her work as one of the great contemporary operatic mezzo-sopranos,
but also as one of the foremost interpreters of The Great
American Song Book. While at Indiana University, Catherine
performed with the highly regarded Singing Hoosiers under
the direction of respected music educator Robert Stoll. Catherine
worked her way through an M.F.A. in Acting and Movement from
Penn State University by doing local voice-overs, jingles
and backup recording work in central Pennsylvania studios.
In 1985, she moved to New York City.
Since 1994, Catherine has appeared to critical acclaim at
popular New York City venues, including Iridium, Smoke, the
Knickerbocker, The Encore, "Live at Opia," Chez
Suzette, Shelly's NY, Metronome, Cleopatra's Needle, Jilly's
NY, La Belle Epoque, Don't Tell Mama, The Triad (formerly
Steve McGraw's), Danny's Skylight Room, Eighty-Eight's, the
Caviarteria at the Soho Grand and Town Hall for the Mabel
Mercer Foundation's Cabaret Convention. She has appeared at
the Mohonk Mountain House Jazz on the Mountain (hosted by
Michael Bourne of WBGO-Newark, NJ), the Sackets Harbor Jazz
Festival, the Montclair (NJ) Women in Jazz Festival, and The
Central Penna. Festival of the Arts. From Cole Porter to Sting,
Catherine's eclectic taste in musical material often finds
her performing a broad spectrum of music. Her repertoire includes
jazz standards and American Popular Songs, as well as fresh,
contemporary compositions (by David Cantor (Dave's True Story),
Deirdre Broderick, Bill Mays, Mark Murphy and Russ Kassoff).
Catherine's most recent CD, Moments, is conducted and arranged
by Mr. Mays; an additional arrangement of "Skylark"
by Mr. Kassoff. In his liner notes, Zan Stewart (DownBeat/Newark
Star Ledger) writes: "Gifted with a stunning alto voice,
a stellar sense of time and deep intuition about how to render
a lyric, Catherine makes songs come alive. ... [A] rising
star to keep your eye on." About her debut CD, I Hear
Music (released May '99), Jerome Wilson (Cadence) wrote: "Her
hard swinging style continually reminded me of Annie Ross.
If Janis Siegel or Cheryl Bentine ever left the Manhattan
Transfer, she'd make a perfect replacement." Moments
and I Hear Music are available on line at: www.catherinedupuis.com,
www.cdbaby.com; at Tower Records and Virgin; distributed by
NorthCountry.
In spring 2005, Catherine will release her third recording
with Bearheart Records, Rules of the Road, arranged and orchestrated
by Mr. Kassoff, with Bucky Pizzarelli, Ted Nash, Martin Wind,
Marvin Stamm and a host of other wonderful musicians.
Catherine has performed regionally and off-Broadway for over
two decades. Her national theatrical credits include Laura
in Goblin Market (Portland Stage Company), Hodel in Fiddler
on the Roof (North Carolina Theatre), Nimue in Camelot (Pittsburgh
Civic Light Opera) and Amalia (originally created by Barbara
Cook) in the Sheldon Harnick/Jerry Bock hit, She Loves Me
(South Jersey Regional Theatre; with Joanna Papada, now V.P.
Operations of Manchester Craftsman Guild in Pittsburgh, PA).
In New York, Catherine appeared in Daydreams, an innovative
show about Doris Day. The sold-out show was covered by the
New Yorker, The Daily News and The New York Post. She created
and continues to perform a one-woman show based on Native
American issues and her Mohawk/Ojibwa ancestry. Catherine
is proud to be a 26-year member of Actor's Equity Association
and to have been a co-founder and Managing Director of the
highly acclaimed off-Broadway Melting Pot Theatre Company.
For television, Catherine has been interviewed on "New
Jersey's Talking" with Lee Leonard (New Jersey Channel
12) and on "First Music & Arts," directed and
produced by Victor Linklater (APTN – Aboriginal Peoples
Television Network, Canada). On radio, she has appeared on
Michael Bourne's "Singers Unlimited" (WBGO-Newark,
NJ) and on Jim Lowe's "Jim Lowe & Company" taped
in New York for national syndication. Catherine received a
2001 nomination for best vocal jazz album (I Hear Music) from
the independent music network, Just Plain Folks. |