Jenni Samuelson

Jenni Samuelson is an award-winning soprano with repertoire that includes opera, oratorio, and art song as well as musical theater, jazz, and contemporary popular forms. She has performed in more than 25 lead roles with opera companies throughout the country, including the San Francisco Opera Center, Eugene Opera, Opera San Jose, Chicago Light Opera Works, and The Skylight in Milwaukee. Her signature roles include: Susanna (The Marriage of Figaro); Musetta (La Boheme); Phyllis (Iolanthe) and Johanna (Sweeney Todd). Concert appearances have been equally varied and include: Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 by Villa Lobos; Dona Nobis Pacem by Vaughan Williams; Bach's B minor Mass; and Mendelssohn's Elijah, with musical organizations including the Carmel Bach Festival, San Francisco Chorale, Santa Rosa Symphony, and Boston Metropolitan Chorale. In 2001, Samuelson was granted the Virginia Bess Adams Fellowship to study and perform at the world-renowned Carmel Bach Festival. She is a three-time Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and a U.S. Finalist in the Veronica Dunne International Voice Competition. She received her Master of Music in Vocal Performance from Northwestern University. From 1999 through 2005, she served on the voice faculty at Sonoma State University. She currently teaches in the Global Arts Studies Program at UC Merced.