Linda Lister
A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Vassar College, Linda Lister received her Master of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music and her DMA in Voice Performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The Durham Sun-Herald has described her singing as “gloriously refulgent, with a brightly etched sound that enchanted,” while the Buffalo News praised her “strong, shimmering soprano.”
Her solo credits include performances with the Washington Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic, Evansville Philharmonic, Las Vegas Philharmonic, Piedmont Opera Theatre, Opera Theatre of Rochester, Long Leaf Opera, Greensboro Oratorio Society, Rome Bach Festival, Cambridge Gilbert and Sullivan Society, Clocktower Jazz, and Maine State Music Theatre. She created the role of Madge in the world premiere of Libby Larsen’s opera Picnic (2009) and sang Savannah in the world premiere concert version of The Prince of Tides (2010) with the Carolina Master Chorale. Her favorite roles include Musetta in La Bohème, Adina in The Elixir of Love, Adele in Die Fledermaus, Maggie in A Chorus Line and Woman 1 in Songs for a New World.
Her writings have been featured in the Journal of Singing, American Music Teacher, Opera Journal, Classical Singer, Voice Prints and Popular Music and Society. A certified CorePower Yoga teacher, she is the author of the book Yoga for Singers: Freeing Your Voice and Spirit through Yoga (2011) and co-author of Voice Secrets: 92 Performance Strategies for the Advanced Singer (2016). She has done presentations on yoga for musicians at the University of Evansville, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Clayton State University, Campbell University, Druid City Opera Workshop, Taos Opera Institute, Big Yoga Houston, and Bija Yoga NYC, as well as national conventions of the College Music Society, NOA and NATS, the 6th International Conference on the Physiology and Acoustics of Singing, and the 2013 International Congress of Voice Teachers.
Winner of the 2014 American Prize in Directing, she directed UNLV Opera to 2 First Place Awards in the 2015 National Opera Association Collegiate Opera Scenes Competition in both musical theatre and graduate opera divisions. She is the soprano soloist on the new Centaur Records CD Moments of Arrival (2016). Also a composer, she has written a number of vocal works including Pleas to Famous Fairies, Bring Me the Wine of Love, Flags: Summer of 2015, and a chamber opera about the Brontë sisters entitled How Clear She Shines! Dr. Lister is Director of Opera Theater and Associate Professor of Music at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.