A musical omnivore living up to her childhood nickname “the goat,” mezzo-soprano Tracy Cowart enjoys a wide range of musical interests, from twelfth-century monophony to American old-time music. Praised by the New York Times as “the real attraction” with a voice that is “light and lithe,” Tracy has performed with period ensembles including Apollo’s Fire, La Donna Musicale, Musica Sacra, the Newberry Consort, Rose of the Compass, Severall Friends, and the Washington Bach Consort. Upcoming recording projects include The Gentle Shepherd (the earliest extant Scottish ballad opera) with Makaris, and neo-medieval arrangements of Hildegard von Bingen and Herrad von Hohenburg with Freelance Nun, with whom she also continues to explore 18th-century New England Anthems. Also known for her interpretations of new music, Tracy has performed with the Great Noise Ensemble, sung cabaret with the Richmond Festival of Music, and toured with Weird Uncle, an experimental group that fuses medieval modes, jug band, and electronica.

Tracy received her B.S.B.A. in Business Administration from American University, her M.M. in Early Music from the Longy School of Music, and her D.M.A. in Historical Performance Practice from Case Western Reserve University; she is currently faculty at the Amherst Early Music Festival and at Fordham University, where she teaches voice and co-led the Collegium Musicum. She has been a guest-artist/lecturer at Pennsylvania State University, Fairmont State University, Bucknell University, and the Society for Seventeenth Century Music. Tracy is also an avid forager, amateur herbalist, and a card-carrying member of the NY Mycological Society