Monique Osorio

Monique Osorio is a vocalist, composer, teaching artist, community organizer, and co-creator of glo’s Making Kin project (2023-). 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.

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, 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 a guest at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Guthman Musical Instrument Competition.

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 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.