Barbara Steinhaus, DMA, C-AIM

Barbara Steinhaus began her vocal training in Atlanta, Georgia, though a native of Madison, Wisconsin. She won honors, scholarships, and degrees: a Bachelor’s in Music from Georgia State University, a Master’s in Music from the University of Illinois, and a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Georgia. Articles based on her doctoral thesis, “An Investigation of Marian Anderson’s Interpretation of Black Spiritual Art Songs in Selected Recording,” have been published in journals such as the NATS Journal of Singing.

Highlights as a professional soprano include Steinhaus singing with Georgia Opera and Atlanta Opera Studio; in Francis Poulenc’s Gloria at Carnegie Hall, New York City in 1990; and in art song recitals with John Wustman at the piano. She is in her 16th year as chair of the Department of Music at Brenau University, teaching applied voice, opera workshop and vocal pedagogy. One of her students was awarded a solo performance with the Georgia Symphony Orchestra in 2021, and others have successfully completed graduate degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and Syracuse University.

In 2015, Steinhaus completed a Graduate Certificate in Arts in Medicine from the University of Florida and began a bedside music practice at the Northeast Georgia Medical Center. She currently serves as president of the National Organization for Arts in Health (NOAH) and is a founding member of the organization. Steinhaus was the lead author for the white paper, Burnout, Research, Public Health: Critical Issues and Action Plans (NOAH) and wrote Impact of Arts on Health and Well-being: Health Research Summary for Advocates and Decision Makers, commissioned by the Texas Cultural Trust. Her Brenau University course in arts in health care serves both fine arts and health science majors, where she is initiating collaborative inquiry among these disciplines.