Circa Candace Smith

Candace Smith, mezzo-soprano, was born in Los Angeles but has lived in Europe since 1975 (in Italy since 1978). After earning a Bachelor’s Degree in music in California (CSUN), where she was particularly active in the field of contemporary music, she specialized in medieval music at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis under Andrea von Ramm. In Italy she studied, assisted and performed with the late singer Cathy Berberian. In 1994 she earned a diploma in vocal pedagogy from the Rabine-Institut für funktionale Stimmpädagogik. She has collaborated with numerous early music ensembles including Sequentia, P.A.N., and her own Concerto delle Dame (1978-89), one of the first to specialize in music composed by women. In 1991 she founded the (mostly) female ensemble Cappella Artemisia, dedicated to early music from Italian convents. In 1997, she began publishing this repertoire together with her husband, American cornettist Bruce Dickey, under the name of Artemisia Editions. Candace is an active teacher, working with singers, actors, teachers and psychiatric patients. She is on the faculty of the Bernstein School of Musical Theater in Bologna and the Accademia Teatrale Veneta in Venice.