Joann Martinson Davis

"Not the sort of chirping soubrette often heard in the rôle, Martinson Davis was a gratifyingly full-voiced Gretel who encountered no problems with the girl’s top notes and trills. Martinson Davis’s Gretel joyously greeted the morning after a harrowing night in the forest with a sensational top D. Many of the world’s opera companies regularly stage Hänsel und Gretel, but few of them offer their audiences Hänsels and Gretels as captivating as Greensboro’s (Voix des Arts)."

Mrs. Martinson Davis recently returned to North Dakota as Gretel in Western Plains Opera’s production of Hänsel und Gretel. She most recently made her Opéra Louisiane debut and has appeared with other such opera companies as Greensboro Opera, Western Plains Opera, Louisiana Opera, and Emerald City Opera. Joann’s opera roles include Norina, Yum-Yum, Violetta, Adele, Le Feu (L'enfant et les Sortilèges), Monica, Lola, Mabel, The Fairy Godmother (Cendrillon), Frasquita, and Gretel. Joann has performed as a soloist in Mahler's Symphony No. 4, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Händel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, Vivaldi Gloria, Saint-Säens Christmas Oratorio, Bach's St. John Passion, Mozart’s Coronation Mass, and Dan Forrest’s Requiem for the Living. Such concerts have been with the Minot Symphony, Vermont Philharmonic, Coeur d'Alene, Symphony in the Valley, UNCG Symphony and Lynchburg Chamber Orchestras.

Mrs. Martinson Davis’ awards include “Audience Favorite” and the Puccini Award with the Orpheus Competition, the Orchestral Performance Award with the Bel Canto Institute, along with awards from the Coeur d'Alene Young Artist, Symphony in the Valley, Long Leaf Opera, The American Prize, and Heafner/Williams Competitions and a finalist in the Harold Haugh Light Opera Competition.

Joann received her B.A. in Music Performance from Minot (ND) State University and her Master's in Music from the University of North Carolina Greensboro. She is an annual performer in the New Music On the Bayou Festival in Louisiana. Joann currently lives in Ruston, LA with her husband where she is a Collaborative Pianist and Vocal Coach at Louisiana Tech University as well as a group fitness instructor.