Marissa Steingold

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Steingold Performs at 'Palace' Concert
Marissa Steingold was born in Paris, France and grew up in Washington, D.C. Ms. Steingold began her singing career when Washington-based musician and educator Rickey Payton heard her performing in a 7th grade concert. He took her under his wing and began hiring her for jazz, pop and R&B gigs when she was 14. At Princeton University Marissa majored in Music Composition and received a Certificate in Vocal Jazz Performance.

 

Marissa studied composition with renowned composer Steven Mackey and wrote her thesis, an original musical composition entitled "A History of the Jews in 7 Parts", under his direction. She was the lead singer of the Princeton University Concert Jazz Band and Monk-Mingus Ensemble and went on to win a Downbeat Magazine award for "Best College Jazz Group" (1998). After receiving high honors and the Sachs prize for "Best Musical Performer at Princeton University" Marissa earned a Master's in Vocal Jazz and Composition from New England Conservatory of Music. She was selected for the Honors Jazz Group and studied intensively the "Lydian Chromatic" theory of jazz legend George Russell.  With Professor Hankus Netsky she began to perform Klezmer, which culminated in solo Yiddish and Ladino performances in "A Taste of Chanukah" (with Theodore Bikel) aired on PBS and NPR.  

 


 After moving to Los Angeles Marissa became a SAG vocalist for film, television and commercials. An impressively versatile performer and improviser, Ms. Steingold regularly records jazz, classical, klezmer, pop, R&B, middle-eastern, broadway, country, and rock.  She was the "real" virtuostic voice of Teen Queen Hilary Duff in the film "Raise Your Voice" and has performed in numerous commercials including Mercedes Benz, Motorola, Chevrolet, Nationwide, Oil of Olay and Special K.  She recently received critical praise for her soaring neo-baroque opening theme to the film "Edison" (2005).  Marissa's other great love, classical music, has been realized through her Los Angeles-based quartet "La Camerata". This innovative quartet of voice, violin, cello and guitar delights audiences with its unusual adaptations of Bach, French, Spanish, Brazilian and Italian Art Song, Gershwin Piano Preludes, Rachmaninoff and Jazz Standards. Marissa performs her quirky original music and lyrics in concerts and jazz clubs across the country and Europe.  Although she classifies her songs as jazz, her music melds a myriad of influences.