About Julia Dollison

Julia Dollison is an accomplished jazz/contemporary vocalist and educator with over two decades of experience in the field. Her prolific studio recording for the KerryMarsh.com catalog has resulted in a diverse collection of over 500 demo recordings for vocal ensemble arrangements performed worldwide. The Vocal Part Tracks (and other audio learning materials) from this collection have been utilized by tens of thousands of vocalists of all ages around the world. As a seasoned educator specializing in private jazz and contemporary voice instruction, Dollison has a proven track record of developing award-winning vocalists through personalized mentorship and a passion for the art of contemporary singing styles. 

In 2005, critics praised Dollison's self-released debut CD "Observatory" as “rare, fresh and substantive” (JazzTimes Magazine), “richly imaginative" (Wall Street Journal) and “a deeply musical virtuoso" (Washington Post). In 2010, Dollison and husband Kerry Marsh released their ArtistShare® recording project "Vertical Voices: The Music of Maria Schneider." The album received an abundance of critical praise, including DownBeat Magazine's Best Albums of 2010 and Jazziz Magazine's Top 3 Vocal Groups of the year, along with Manhattan Transfer and New York Voices. Soon after, Dollison and Marsh joined forces with alto Jennifer Barnes and bass Greg Jasperse to form a vocal quartet called Vertical Voices, which continues to perform across the USA and Canada.

Since winning the DownBeat Magazine Student Music Award for Best Collegiate Jazz Vocal Soloist in 2000, Dollison’s uniquely personal brand of solo vocal jazz has been delighting club-goers, concert and festival audiences throughout the U.S., Canada, Japan and Europe. She's performed with the Maria Schneider Orchestra at New York's Jazz Standard, appeared by invitation at several jazz conferences, namely IAJE (International Association of Jazz Educators), CMEA (California Music Educators Association) and JEN (Jazz Education Network).

Dollison has been heard at such New York clubs as Tavern on the Green, Jazz Standard, Sweet Rhythm and Cornelia Street Cafe. She's shared the stage with Jamey Aebersold, Bob Dorough, Kurt Elling, Christian McBride, Mark Murphy, Dianne Reeves, and Kenny Wheeler. She has also performed with pop artists such as Sara Bareilles, Ben Folds and Imogen Heap.

A classically trained soprano, Dollison has performed as a guest soloist under the direction of symphony conductors Michael Tilson Thomas with the New World Symphony as the featured soloist in Leonard Bernstein's "Chichester Psalms" and Erich Kunzel with the Naples Philharmonic's Duke Ellington / Hoagy Carmichael Centennial Concert Series. Most recently, Julia was the featured soloist with the Sacramento Master Singers in "Come Sunday: The Sacred Music of Duke Ellington" and has played the title role in Gian Carlo Menotti's "Amahl and the Night Visitors." Julia also performed as a lead soprano in the "Voices of Liberty" Americana show at Walt Disney World's EPCOT Center, where she was featured as a main park attraction.

An experienced studio singer, Dollison can be heard as the soprano soloist in the Academy Award-winning "Vera Drake" film trailer (Fine Line Cinema 2004) and in film scores from "The Stepford Wives" (DreamWorks 2004) and "The Corpse Bride" (Warner Brothers Pictures 2005). She has also recorded commercials for Disney, Fox, Coca Cola, Pier One Imports, Go Girl Energy Drinks and Mattress Discounters, and has pre-recorded vocal tracks for the Florida Orange Bowl's "New Year's Event" halftime shows and parades, and The Rockettes' Radio City Music Hall "Christmas Spectacular" in New York City.

From 2015 to 2019, Dollison served on the jazz studies faculty at The University of Northern Colorado, teaching applied jazz voice and overseeing the solo vocal jazz major degrees component. Julia's private voice students from UNC earned six DownBeat Awards in that time. Previously, Dollison and Marsh directed the vocal jazz program at Sacramento State, during which time the students and ensembles also earned eleven DownBeat Awards. Dollison has been an adjunct jazz studies faculty member at eight other universities including Metropolitan State University in Denver, The New School University in New York and at Florida's University of Miami, where she also earned her B.M. and M.M. degrees in studio music and jazz vocal performance, teaching with a full assistantship while earning her graduate degree. Dollison currently resides in Lawrence, KS where she continues her work with the KerryMarsh.com catalog as well as maintain an active schedule of vocal jazz adjudication, clinics and workshops throughout the U.S.