Monique Osorio

Biography

Monique Osorio is a vocalist, composer, teaching artist, and community organizer based in Atlanta. Monique believes that music, especially vocal music, is accessible to all, that everyone can have a beautiful and expressive voice, and that with training, any voice can gain flexibility, power, and freedom. As a performer and vocalist, Monique is intrigued by experimental approaches to singing and has developed a style that incorporates both acoustic and electronically extended effects, continually inspired by the idea of the voice as an instrument.

Due to their distinctive style, Monique is heavily involved in Atlanta’s improvisation and new music communities, focusing on premiering new works. Recently, Monique was the lead vocalist in the premieres of the experimental opera Regarding Bullfrogs and Universal Power Dynamics by composer Majid Araim, funded by Idea Capital; the song cycle Seeds of Darkness by composer/cellist Benjamin Shirley; and the album release Look! Relay Station! by composer and long-time music educator Jeff Crompton. Monique was thrilled to be a guest at the Georgia Institute of Technology's Guthman Musical Instrument Competition, where they collaborated with Kat Mustateo, inventor of the instrument "BodyMouth," which allows dancers to sound out phonemes with limb movements using attached sensors.

Currently, Monique is developing a project called Making Kin with artist/activist Lauri Stallings and Grammy Award-winning saxophonist Kebbi Williams, which was listed in an article by ARTSATL as one of the eight dance performances to most anticipate in 2025. Additionally, Monique participates in choral performance and is highly sought after to record lead and background vocals. They have recently collaborated with groups such as Klark Sound, Mick Mayer, Relay Station, Atlanta Improvisers Orchestra, Atlanta Space Quartet, Atlanta Contemporary Music Collective, glo, Whispers of Night, and Mute Sphere. They have also performed with the University of Georgia’s premier choral ensemble, the Hugh Hodgson Singers. Monique was the Distinguished Fellow in Residence at the Hambidge Center for Arts and Sciences for their research in integrating movement with vocal exercise.

Monique’s extensive experience as a vocalist and artist fuels their passion for teaching and education. They currently work as an Education Programs Assistant and Teaching Artist with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and run a thriving voice studio where they teach using evidence-based voice pedagogy, drawing from the principles of master pedagogue Jeannette LoVetri’s Somatic Voicework™. Monique is deeply dedicated to expanding their knowledge of the voice, frequently attending sessions on vocal anatomy and physiology, voice science, and vocal health. They are pursuing an M.A. in Vocal Pedagogy from the Voice Study Center in collaboration with the University of Essex. Monique holds bachelor’s degrees in Music Composition and Psychology from the University of Georgia and a post-baccalaureate certificate in Speech-Language Pathology from Northwestern University.

Monique is also the founder of the Atlanta Improviser Orchestra Choir (AIOC), established in January of 2022. The 20-person choir rehearses bi-weekly at Agnes Scott College's Julia Thompson Smith Chapel and engages in improvisatory music-making utilizing Butch Morris' conduction method and hand sign vocabulary. Monique has expanded the hand-sign vocabulary to include voice-specific signs such as those for vowels, consonants, and body movements. The AIOC has performed at Emory University's Performing Arts Center alongside Henrik Munkeby Nørstebø (trombone), Phil Minton (trumpet/voice), and Audrey Chen (voice) and was also recently selected to participate in Atlanta's Sound Now Festival.

In addition to their work in music and education, Monique is a dedicated gardener who loves learning about the no-till method and enriching soil and microbial life.