On Jan. 8, 2021, classical singer Julia Bullock joined music journalist Steven Winn via Zoom in SFCV's interview series.
American classical singer Julia Bullock is “a musician who delights in making her own rules” (The New Yorker). Combining versatile artistry with a probing intellect and commanding stage presence, she has, in her early 30s, already headlined productions and concerts at preeminent arts institutions around the world. Also an innovative curator in high demand, she holds notable positions that include collaborative partner of Esa-Pekka Salonen in 2020–2021, his inaugural season as music director of the San Francisco Symphony; opera programming host of the new broadcast channel All Arts; founding core member of the American Modern Opera Company (AMOC); 2018–2019 artist-in-residence at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art; 2019–20 artist-in-residence of the San Francisco Symphony; and 2020–2022 artist-in-residence of London’s Guildhall School. Bullock is a prominent voice of social consciousness and activism. As Vanity Fair notes, she is “young, highly successful, [and] politically engaged,” with the “ability to inject each note she sings with a sense of grace and urgency, lending her performances the feel of being both of the moment and incredibly timeless.” Honored as a 2021 Artist of the Year and “agent of change” by Musical America, Bullock gave a Tiny Desk (Home) Concert in NPR Music’s special quarantine edition of the series in December; NPR’s Tom Huizenga characterized it as “among the most transcendent musical moments I've experienced this year.”
