Penelope Voss (she/her) is a singer and songwriter based in Ithaca, NY. Her writing is heavily influenced by both musical theatre and art song, which is deeply felt in her debut record Moonbeams (2026). Characterized by audiences as “both playful & poignant,” “lyrically grounded in physical spaces and emotional head spaces,” and “groovy and whimsical,” Moonbeams is a compilation of songs that speak to one woman’s quest to find light in the darkest of places. While its lyrics are literal and confessional in nature, the themes addressed are universal, described by her frequent collaborator Julia Felice (Fusebox) as “what you didn’t even understand you were thinking and feeling before she said it, in words more incisive and beautiful than you could have imagined.”

Raised in the lower Hudson Valley, she came out of the womb singing and, with family encouragement, pursued the enjoyment of music making & music appreciation as a part of life’s daily routine. She started studying piano at age 5. Throughout her school years, she made a reputation in her suburban neighborhood for loudly singing along to everything and anything from Ella Fitzgerald to Joni Mitchell to Elliott Smith to Alicia Keys while she waited for the school bus in the mornings. As part of a capstone project, she studied songwriting and first performed original music in her senior year of high school. She studied classical singing and music education at Ithaca College. 

Penelope frequently performs and collaborates with fellow Ithaca-based musicians Mandy Goldman (Noon Fifteen) and Sam Lupowitz (Noon Fifteen, Pocket Bandits), who co-produced her EP Heavy Cream (release date tbd). In addition to writing and performing original music, Penelope is an active chorister and board member for the Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers and a song leader for Singing Resistance Ithaca. She believes that singing out is the fastest way to find one’s joy, and is constantly finding new ways to share that joy with her community.