Nicole Sonbert

Assistant Editor | Youth Vocal Repertoire

Dr. Nicole Sonbert, Mezzo-Soprano is recognized for work as a performer, clinician, guest presenter, adjudicator, and guest conductor. She has performed roles including Aunt Lou in Still’s Highway One, USA, Madame Flora in Menotti’s The Medium, Suzuki in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, the Mother in Menotti’s The Consul, the ghost mother in Offenbach’s Les contes d’Hoffmann, Buttercup in Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore, and Bloody Mary in Rodger and Hammerstein’s South Pacific. She has also performed as the alto soloist in Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem in D minor, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor. 

Dr. Sonbert is a graduate of University of Kentucky with a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance. Sonbert was previously the Youth & Family Programs Manager for Seattle Opera and Director of the Community Music School at Appalachian State University, as well as a part of the voice faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Appalachian State University, and Lees-McRae College. She has also taught in several other training programs, with many of her students winning first place awards for NATS and concerto competitions. In 2006, she was the recipient of the “My Teacher, My Hero” award, honoring her as a teacher and mentor for young voices while teaching choir at E.B. Aycock Middle School. Her research area encompasses Evaluating Appropriate Repertoire for Developing Singers: An African-American Art Song Anthology. Sonbert is passionate about music by black composers, currently compiling an anthology of music for the developing solo voice. She is honored to join the African Diaspora Music Project this year as Assistant Editor in youth vocal repertoire. Dr. Sonbert is currently the Director of MusicFest Northwest and the Director of Voice at Eastern Washington University.