Singer and Collaborator:

Teresa is a classically trained lyric-coloratura/soubrette and music theater actress, who continues to be drawn toward traditional operatic and concert work, as well as special performance projects whenever possible (pandemics not withstanding!)

Highlights include being a featured soloist with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops on the series of Bernstein Centennial Tribute Concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall, where her rendition of Glitter and Be Gay earned standing ovations. During the pandemic, she was featured in their live-streamed Holiday Pops. 

She had the honor to be part of Lee Mingwei: Sonic Blossom, the first on-going performance art installation at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, and one that has continued to evolve, garnering international attention at major galleries throughout the world. 

In the Boston theater scene, Teresa was fortunate to be part of some of the most well-attended and critically acclaimed productions in recent Boston theatre history with the award-winning Lyric Stage Company of Boston, including A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Company, Sweeney Todd, and Into the Woods.  She has also performed in multiple shows with Moonbox Productions, New England Light Opera, American Classics and more.

Solo voice recitals include the Boston Singers' Resource Recital Series Retrospective: A Tribute to John Duke, the Faculty Artists Recital Series at Gordon College, and a special faculty/student/alumni recital for Walnut Hill entitled "From the Hill to the Shore," at the magnificent Shalin Liu Arts Center in Rockport, MA. Teresa has also been invited to present solo voice recitals for New England National Association of Teachers of Singing (NENATS), Crescendo Club of Boston, Chromatic Club of Boston, Central City Opera House Association, and the Italian Cultural Center of Naples, Florida.

In concert, Teresa has been featured with the North Carolina Symphony on multiple occasions, including a concert version of  Le Nozze di Figaro conducted by Grant Llewellyn.  Other engagements include Brahms’ Requiem (Brevard Music Center, Connecticut Choral Society, and Newton Choral Society), Carmina Burana (Canton Symphony Orchestra), Mahler’s Symphony Number 4 (Eastman Philharmonia under the direction of David Effron). 

Recognized for her skill as an interpreter of song, Teresa was honored with a Career Encouragement Certificate as a finalist in The American Prize for Women in Art Song and Oratorio. She was selected as a semi-finalist in the prestigious Oratorio Society of New York solo competition. In 2010, Teresa was a National Semi-Finalist at the National Association of Teachers of Singing Artist Awards (NATSAA), after having won the Boston and New England divisions. She also competed as a semi-finalist in the opera division of the Peter Elvins Vocal Competition in Cambridge, MA. 

Originally from Raleigh, North Carolina, she earned a Bachelor of Music degree with honors in Vocal Performance from the University of Illinois, as well as a Master of Music degree and Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music. There she was a Graduate Fellowship recipient, the Winner of the Jesse Kneisel Lieder Competition, and a Second Prize Winner in the first annual Kurt Weill/Lotte Lenya Musical Theater Competition. She received further training as Studio Artist with Central City Opera in Colorado, Brevard Music Center's Janiec Opera Center, Operafestival di Roma, and as a Resident Artist with Opera Carolina.

Teacher and Arts Administrator:

Head of Voice, Walnut Hill School for the Arts (an internationally-esteemed independent school near Boston, MA offering unparalleled education and intensive pre-professional arts training to exceptional high school students. Students attend as day-students and boarding students from all over the world.) Since 2015, she has designed and led an enriching voice curriculum, guiding advanced young singers in developing essential skills and building a strong, healthy foundation for their future pursuits. In addition to private instruction, Teresa leads weekly performance classes, programs all vocal recitals, and directs the yearly opera, usually adapting and tailoring a piece in order to best feature the particular group of voice majors. She is especially passionate about supporting a student in all aspects of their development, with sincere compassion for their vocal, mental and emotional health. Teresa also serves as an advisor, and is known as an enthusiastic, organized and efficient leader, supervising adjunct voice and piano faculty, arranging secondary lessons for non-voice majors across campus.

Private Vocal Instruction: Teresa is a highly sought-after vocal teacher, devoted to helping singers build their voices and unleash their unique and personal artistry. Her students consistently matriculate to top college and conservatory programs to further pursue voice or theater, including: Curits, Juilliard, Oberlin, Eastman, New England Conservatory, Manhattan School of Music, Boston Conservatory, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Northwestern, University of Michigan, Cleveland Institute of Music, Westminster Choir College, Harvard, and more. Students have earned top prizes at the National Level in competitions such as YoungArts, Schmidt Vocal, NATS and CSMusic.

Pandemic Projects:

Teresa energetically leaned into the challenges faced when the arts world seemed to shut down and educational organizations everywhere were reimagining how to offer their curricula. From March 2020 until June 2021, she focused primarily on ensuring her students at Walnut Hill would have meaningful and enriching experiences and training, in spite of their lessons and performances being handled remotely. Students connected from all over the world (over 16 hours apart in time zones) and yet managed to create beautiful performance projects under her leadership. They focused on new skills such as acting for the camera, self-taping, learning to collaborate on the creation of customized piano accompaniment tracks, and still demonstrated tremendous growth and accomplishment. Listen to Teresa, her colleagues, and students discuss this incredible year in this feature interview.

Their first performance was a live recital of classic Italian Art Song, and each student performed from their homes all over the world. Their second project, featured works by poets and composers traditionally underrepresented on classical programs, primarily women and persons of color. This program featured twelve student-directed and student-recorded music videos. The students gained perspective of what it takes to design, create and manifest a complete performance, with a range of ideas from animation to stop-action to dance to scenic stories, bringing dimension and creativity to these beautiful art songs.

And finally, with the blessing of composer Rachel Portman, Teresa adapted "The Little Prince: A Magical Opera” to a length of just under and hour. Students recorded all audio tracks individually (which were then mastered for the final audio). They filmed each scene individually in front of green screen, from all over the world including the Walnut Hill Campus, China, and all over the USA, under Teresa's direction remotely and in person. Then, working with two high school film students and a young professional, the final movie was created using animation and movie magic. This production was awarded Second Prize in the National Opera Association Opera Production Competition.