Sylvia McNair’s segue from an incredible and long-lived opera and oratorio career to cabaret and musical theater continues to meet with outstanding approval and adulation.  The Wall Street Journal specifically recognized Sylvia as one of only two of today’s first-rank, American classical artists who “proved adept at jazz vocals” and The Chicago Tribune hailed her cabaret show as “a stylistic breakthrough.”

A two-time Grammy Award winner, Sylvia’s accolades continue to multiply.  Recently chosen as the 2007 recipient of The Gaudium Award from The Breukelein Institute, she shares this distinction for "extraordinary and distinctive contributions to the arts and public life" with Mabel Mercer, Dave Brubeck, Barbara Caroll, Elaine Stritch, Kitty Carlisle Hart, and a jaw-dropping list of other exceptional human beings.   Sylvia’s response to this news was:  “Now that I've seen the list of past recipients, I'm sure there's been some mistake!”  Placed in a class coveted by any cabaret artist, she will receive the award at a special event in New York on November 12 and celebrate in style with a brand new show and one-night-only performance at Feinstein’s in New York on November 18, 2007.

Sylvia has made over 70 recordings ranging from Mozart arias with Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St.-Martin-in-the-Fields to CDs with Andre Previn of music by Jerome Kern and Harold Arlen.  Personal career highlights include a performance of the Bach B-minor Mass with the Vienna Philharmonic for Pope John Paul II at The Vatican, singing for Hillary Clinton, and a recital at The U.S. Supreme Court by special invitation from Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

A regular guest soloist with the major American and European orchestras and opera houses, Sylvia has worked with an array of today’s most prominent conductors including Seiji Ozawa, Kurt Masur, Leonard Slatkin and Robert Shaw, the musician she credits with giving her the early and important opportunities that started her career.

A native of Mansfield, Ohio, Sylvia earned a Masters degree with Distinction from the Indiana University School of Music, received honorary doctorates from Westminster College (1997) and Indiana University (1998), and the Ohio Governor’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in Arts and Entertainment (1999).  She joined the prestigious voice faculty of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University in 2006.

Cabaret appearances include Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis, Ravinia Music Festival, the Milwaukee Symphony, the Carlyle Hotel in New York, and the famed Oak Room of the Algonquin Hotel that drew these raves from critic Rex Reed:  "What a glowing surprise to find Ms. McNair not only in such splendid voice, but thrillingly adept at exploring the subtexts of songs in a dozen variable moods … I could get used to this kind of ecstasy."