Featured Soloists, Lord Nelson Mass

​Rachelle Austin

​Michigan born soprano, Rachelle Austin, has returned to Saginaw after studying opera performance at the Chicago College of Performing Arts. She has performed throughout North America and Italy, and most recently made her Canadian debut as Zerlina in Don Giovanni. Her recent stage credits include La Fata Azzurra in the Chicago premier of Respighi´s La bella dormente nel bosco, the title role in Stravinsky´s The Nightingale, Laurentia in Captain Lovelock, and Belinda in Dido and Aeneas.

Ms. Austin is equally at home on the concert stage, having performed as a soloist with the Saginaw Choral Society, Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra, Saginaw Eddy Band, and the Baroque on Beaver Island Music Festival. In 2015, she won the College Graduates division at the Chicago Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing competition. Prior to that, she won the Advanced division for two consecutive years at the Michigan Chapter NATS competition.

Ms. Austin holds a Master of Music in Voice Performance from Roosevelt University Chicago College of Performing Arts under the tutelage of Judith Haddon. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music with a Theatre Minor from Saginaw Valley State University, where she studied voice under Dr. Julie Meyer. She was a hired soloist under the batons of Emanuele Andrizzi, Brett Mitchell, Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout, and Robert Nordling. In 2015 she was chosen to participate in a masterclass with celebrated coach and accompanist Martin Katz. Additionally, she has worked with 2005 BBC Singer of the World, Nicole Cabell.

Ms. Austin currently serves as an Adjunct Faculty member in Voice at Saginaw Valley State University. She is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, and remains active in the Saginaw community as a performer and private voice instructor.

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