Katherine Parker, soprano

Katherine Parker is a multifaceted performer, vocologist, researcher, and educator with over 17 years of experience as a music educator and professional performer.  She currently serves as coordinator of the voice area, classical voice advisor, teaching assistant professor of voice, and artistic director of Nevada Opera Theatre at the University of Nevada Reno.  She earned her Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance from the University of Nevada, Reno, School of Music, Master of Music in Vocal Pedagogy from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, and is an SVI recognized vocologist through the University of Utah.  She holds K-12 music teaching certification in Illinois and Massachusetts.

Dr. Parker has held faculty positions at Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Salem State University, Phillips Academy Andover, Walnut Hill School for the Arts. She spent eight years as a middle school and elementary public school general music and choir director in the Greater Boston Area before transitioning to higher education. She is highly sought after as a guest artist and clinician, having presented at institutions and events across the United States. Her research has included workshops on vocal health for music educators, crosstraining musical theatre treble voices, yoga for singers, and acting methods to combat performance anxiety.  She has been a guest clinician at Classical Singer Magazine National Competition, National Association Teachers of Singing, Berklee Jazz Fest, Boston Conservatory Vocal Pedagogy Professional Workshop, Massachusetts Music Educators Association and Nevada Music Educators Association, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Brown University.  Her most recent research on the work of 19th century Spanish prima donna Isabella Colbran was featured in Classical Singer Magazine and will be featured at the 2025-26 Musical Theatre Education Association annual conference for her research with Denis Rudisch on Broadway Belting: At the Intersection of History, Aesthetics, and Voice Habilitation.  In 2021 she was nominated for the UNR Paul and Judy Bible Teaching Award for excellence in teaching.  

Her career as a performer spans beyond traditional classical and musical theatre repertoire. She has performed as a soloist with Rochester Opera House, Reno Philharmonic, Reno Chamber Orchestra, premiered works at International Clarinet Association, Boston New Opera and Musical Theatre Initiative, Rochester Performing Arts Center, and two seasons at NEO voice festival Los Angeles. She has assisted on several recording projects as a vocal producer at Skywalker Sound and Land Grant Records.  As a dancer and instrumentalist, she spent three summers studying Ewe drumming and dance in Dagbe Cultural Centre in Kopeyia, Ghana and with the National Dance Theatre in Accra.  As a stage performer, she has been described as “graceful, precise” and “her voice is a stunner.” by the Portland Herald Press.  Her favorite musical theatre credits include Miss Honey in "Matilda," Francesca in "Bridges of Madison County," Kate/Lilli in "Kiss Me Kate," and Claudia in "Nine." 

As Artistic Director of Nevada Chamber Opera, Dr. Parker has prioritized community engagement with the Reno/Tahoe arts community. She has directed productions of Acis and Galatea in collaboration with Downtown Reno’s Trinity Cathedral to provide free community performances to the Reno Community, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel with technical direction from Reno Little Theatre, and curated/directed an immersive fine art/Baroque opera exhibit at the University of Nevada, Reno Lilley Gallery with Tahoe-based plein air landscape artist Phyllis Shafer titled Sierra Nevada Pastorale. In 2025, her students were featured at the Reno/Tahoe International Art Show and in 2026 she will direct H.M.S. Pinafore with support from University of Nevada Reno Symphony Orchestra and a cast supported by Firebird Light Opera.  

Professor Parker’s dedication to mentorship and guidance is evident in the achievements of her students, many of whom have pursued successful careers in opera, musical theatre, and academia. Her current and former students currently perform or have held contracts with Deutsche Oper Berlin, the National tours of Mrs. Doubtfire, Pretty Woman, Beetlejuice, The Cher Show, Broadway for Biden, and professional regional theatres and opera houses across the world. They have garnered recognition and wins at national competitions including the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, The Jimmy Awards, HGO Eleanor McCollum Aria Competition, NATS Cal-West/Boston/New England and National Competition, Classical Singer, and Hal Leonard Voice Competition. They have been accepted into esteemed young artist programs and institutions including Boston University Opera Institute, University of Michigan, Princeton University, Merola, AIMS, and Opera Seme.  Developing a vocal habilitation plan in collaboration with each student’s needs and artistic self is a hallmark to her teaching philosophy.  She believes vocal performance is about cultivating an instrument that is resonant, free, and expansive so that it may become an uninhibited vessel to express one’s unique vocal story.