Katie Hannigan

Biography

Praised by the San Francisco Chronicle as “Golden-Voiced Mezzo-Soprano” Katie Hannigan is a vibrant and bold artist comfortable on the operatic and concert stage. Operatic credits include: Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, Suzuki in Madama Butterly, Amadora in Bastianello as part of a John Musto Composer in Residence Collaboration with Nazareth College and Rochester Lyric Opera, Mercedes in Carmen, Prince in Williamson’s The Happy Prince, Bianca in The Rape of Lucretia, La Badessa in Suor Angelica, Zita in Gianni Schicchi, Maurya from Riders to the Sea, Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro, Mother/Allison in This is the Rill Speaking (Recorded by Albany Records 2008) Maman in L’Enfant et les sortileges, Don Ramiro in La Finta Giardiniera, Charlotte in A Little Night Music, Old Prioress in Dialogues of the Carmelites, Sandmann in Hansel und Gretel, and Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors with companies including: Syracuse Opera, Opera Oswego, Buffalo Opera Unlimited, Capitol Opera, The Merola Opera Program, Finger Lakes Opera, Rochester Lyric Opera, Opera on the Avalon, Eastman Opera, SUNY Purchase Opera and Nazareth Opera.

Orchestral credits include: Carmen in a collaboration with New York State Ballet and Lyric Theatre, Handel’s Messiah, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Handel’s Anthem no. 7, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Bach B Minor MassDes Knaben Wunderhorn, Jake Heggie’s song cycle The Deepest Desire, and Vaughn Williams Serenade to Music (Recorded by Harmonium Mundi Records 2011) Performances with: Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Rochester Oratorio Society, Eastman Symphony and Eastman Philharmonia.

Hannigan was an Emerging Singer at the Prestigious Fall Island Vocal Seminar May 2017 under the direction of Stephanie Blythe. She received a full tuition scholarship to attend the Professional Development Division of SONGFEST in Los Angeles in 2015, and she was awarded the Prestigious National Association for Teachers of Singing Artist/Teacher Internship in North Carolina, June 2016. She was winner of the Civic Morning Madrigals Award in Syracuse, NY, and recipient of the Vocal Concerto Competition Prize at Eastman School of Music. Hannigan earned a BM in Voice and Opera from SUNY Purchase College Conservatory, MM and DMA from Eastman School of Music.

Dr. Hannigan also provides leadership for Nazareth Opera, and has served as Artistic Administrator in several Residencies at Nazareth University and the Greater Rochester Community; notably John Musto (2016) and Lori Laitman (2019) interdisciplinary Residencies at Nazareth University. She was a recipient of a Distinction in Teaching Award at Nazareth University, Student Mentor Award Nominee, and Student Research Departmental Grant Recipient. Dr. Hannigan was also awarded a grant with Genesse Valley Community of the Arts, where she offered a lecture recital on Women in Music.

Dr. Hannigan's most recent professional project is a recording with Lori Laitman and highly esteemed artists in the CD: Ocean of Eternity on the Holocaust-themed oratorio Vedem

Fanfare notes, "Hannigan is a fine mezzo, her voice soars beautifully. The final climatic cry "Hold Me!" is well into the soprano register; the effect is powerful indeed".

Personal website: katiehanniganmezzo.org

School of Music Responsibilities

  • Coordinator of Vocal Studies
  • Applied Voice

Education

  • Eastman School of Music, D.M.A.
  • Certificate in College and Community Teaching- Eastman’s Institute for Music Leadership 
  • Eastman School of Music, M.M.
  • SUNY Purchase Conservatory, B.M.

Additional Certifications

  • *Vocal Pedagogy Certifications in Contemporary and Commercial Music, Sessions I, I, II (3 graduate credits) Shenandoah University, Winchester, Virginia, July 2018
  • *Rock the Audition Teacher Online Certification with Sheri Sanders, Fall 2018
  • Bel Canto Can Bento, 2015

Past Performances

January 2020
Recording of selected Holocaust themed Vedem songs with Lori Laitman
Julia Lin, piano and Tarn Travers, violin
Chicago, IL

February 29, 2020 
Performance & Recording of Tempestad, Almanece with Octavio Vazquez
Octavio Vazquez, piano
Beston Hall, Nazareth College, Rochester, NY

April 27, 2020
Concert Performance & Recording of Roxie in Mrs. President with Victoria Bond, conductor
Cutting Edge Concerts New Music Festival
Symphony Space, New York City

Selected Past Performances

September 22 and 24, 2017
Suzuki in Madama Butterfly with Buffalo Opera Unlimited 2017
Rockwell Hall Performing Arts Center at Buffalo State College
Buffalo, NY

October 20, 2017
Soloist in Amy Beach Mass in E Flat with Rochester Oratorio Society
Hochstein Performance Hall, Rochester, NY

November 18
Roxie in Victoria Bond’s Mrs. President with Rochester Lyric Opera
Susan B Anthony House, 17 Madison St, Rochester, NY

March 4, 2018 
Selections from Des Knaben Wunderhorn with Nazareth Wind Ensemble under the baton of Dr. Jared Chase
Nazareth College, Linehan Chapel, Rochester, NY

Mar 8 – 10, 2018 
Selections from Des Knaben Wunderhorn with Nazareth Wind Ensemble under the baton of Dr. Jared Chase
NCWS Performance at the 2018 Eastern Division College Band Directors National Association Conference (CBDNA)
Woolsey Hall at Yale University, New Haven, CT