|
The American soprano, Kelli Jo Van Meter, studied Music education and also Vocal performance at Chadron State College (Class of 2011). She then studied Music education and also Vocal performance at Hastings College (2009-2014). She obtained her Master of Music degree in Voice Performance from the University of Kansas (2014-2016); and her DMA - Doctor of Musical Arts in Voice Performance from University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory (2016-2022), where she studied with Maria Kanyova. Her dynamic artistry has also led to several competition wins. She was the 1st prize voice division winner in the 2019 Naftzger Young Artist Competition as well as the 1st prize winner of the UMKC Chancellor’s Competition. She completed her two-year appointment as Lyric Opera of Kansas City’s Soprano Apprentice Artist in 2021, a program that partners with the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Kelli Van Meter has been critically acclaimed for the “dramatic power” and “searing high notes” she brings to her interpretations of some of the most iconic heroines in the soprano repertoire. For her performance of Suor Angelica, her most frequently sung role, she was praised for her “innocent vulnerability” and “impressive vocal command” (KC Metropolis). As a consummate musician and colleague, she ecently made an exhilarating debut with the Kansas City Symphony as the soprano soloist in George Frideric Handel's Messiah with under 6 hours notice.
In the 2023-2024 season, Kelli Van Meter started her tenure as the Soprano Resident Artist at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City. There, she will sing Sister Margaretta in The Sound of Music, Woglinde and Waldvogel in The Journey to Valhalla, and Mother in Sketchbook for Ollie, as well as covering Nedda in Pagliacci, Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana, and Juliette in Charles Gounod's Roméo et Juliette. She createed the role of Querulous String in the world premiere of Rosabella Gregory and Dina Gregory’s opera, The Haberdasher Prince.
Other previous roles include Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus, Gretel in Engelbert Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel, Elle in La Voix Humaine, Violetta in La traviata, Alice Ford in Falstaff, Arminda in W.A. Mozart's La finta giardiniera, Judith in Béla Bartók's Bluebeard’s Castle, Plaintiff in Trial by Jury, and Daughter in Strawberry Fields. She has also performed excerpts as Fiordiligi in W.A. Mozart's Cosi fan tutte, Donna Anna in W.A. Mozart's Don Giovanni, and The Marschallin in R. Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier.
A dedicated advocate for queer artistry and representation, Kelli Van Meter collaborated with the Charlotte Street Foundation in Kansas City appearing on their New Music Compositions concert in May 2023, which showcased the work of four queer composers. They have been a featured soloist with the Hastings Symphony Orchestra and the UMKC Orchestra, where she sang Alban Berg's Sieben Frühen Lieder at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City.
Kelli Van Meter srved as Former Adjunct Voice Professor at Hastings College (August 2020-May 2021). She is currently based in Kansas City with her partner, mezzo-soprano Emily Stott and their three cats, Morris, Marietta, and Bonnie. In her spare time, she enjoys being outside, reading a good book, and game nights with friends. |
