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The American soprano/mezzo-soprano and voice teacher, Kristin Schwecke, graduated from the University of Wisconsin Madison (UWM) with a Masters degree in Voice, where she studied under Mimmi Fulmer. While attending UW-Madison, she performed the title role in Massenet’s Thaïs. She also holds a Performing Artist Certificate from the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA). During her time there, she was featured as the soprano soloist, Lia, in Debussy’s L’efant prodigue, with the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra. She also sang the title role in Puccini’s La Rondine, Mrs. Coyle in Benjamin Britten's Owen Wingrave, Alice Ford The Merry Wives of Windsor and also performed the role of Abigail Williams in Robert Ward’s The Crucible - a joint production with UNCSA and Piedmont Opera. She has also performed with Piedmont Opera as Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly and was the cover for the title role.
Kristin Schwecke has received honors in the Heafner Williams Vocal Competition, the Fritz and Lavinia Jensen Foundation Competition, Charlotte Opera Guild Competition, Rosen-Schaffel Young Artist Competition, Schubert Club Bruce P. Carlson Scholarship Competition and internationally from the Czech and Slovak International Singing Competition. She was also the winner at the District level and received an Encouragement Award at Regional level in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
Kristin Schwecke is a former Young Artist with the Crested Butte Music Festival where she sang Mimi in La bohème in concert under the baton of Covent Garden David Syrus. In the summer of 2013 she was an Apprentice Artist with Chautauqua Opera, where she performed in B. Britten's Peter Grimes and was a featured soloist with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra. She also covered the role of Alice Ford in Verdi’s Falstaff. Other highlights on the operatic stage include La Contessa in W.A. Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro with Hubbard Hall Opera Theater (summer 2015), First Lady in W.A. Mozart's Die Zauberflöte with Piedmont Opera, Magda in La Rondine with the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute, Abigail in Robert Ward’s The Crucible with Piedmont Opera, and 2nd Sprite in Rusalka with North Carolina Opera, and as the title role in the World Premiere of Michael Ching’s opera Anna Hunter with The Savannah Voice Festival. She has been heralded by Opera Lively as “A name to keep in mind…Her voice filled the house and dominated the stage. Simply spectacular! What a promising dramatic soprano!”
In concert, Kristin Schwecke has sung Verdi’s Requiem (with the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra) and W.A. Mozart's Requiem (with the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra). Her other solo concert engagements include John Rutter's Requiem, Bruckner’s Te Deum (with the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra), Debussy’s L’enfant prodigue, Felix Mendelssohn's Elijah (with the UWM Symphony Orchestra), Orff’s Carmina Burana (with the Cobb Symphony in Georgia), L.v. Beethoven's Mass in C (with the UWM Symphony Orchestra), Théodore Dubois’ Seven Last Words and George Frideric Handel's Messiah. She has appeared with orchestras nationwide including Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra, Cobb Symphony Orchestra, Valdosta Symphony Orchestra and the University of Wisconsin Madison Symphony Orchestra. She is also a member of Winston-Salem Choral Artists (Director: Christopher Gilliam)
Kristin Schwecke Schwecke began teaching voice lessons 10 years ago and thoroughly enjoys working with children. She has performed hundreds of outreach shows in middle schools across the Southeast. Kristin has been seen in Children's Operas like The Billy Goats Gruff and The Three Little Pigs. She also toured with The Open Dream Ensemble in their original production of "Big Shoes." She is currently Adjunct Voice Professor at Salem College (since August 2015) and Wake Forest University (since January 2022). She is married to Daniel Striebich and currently lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. |
