Research interests: Voice for transgender singers, classical, musical theatre, contemporary styles, voice pedagogy, voice science.
Accepting mentees: Yes (3)
Biography
Emerald Lessley, soprano, began studying music and performing at a young age in northern California. Dr. Lessley has enjoyed roles such as Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Rusalka in Dvořák’s Rusalka, Eurydice in Glück’s Orphée et Eurydice, Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni, Suor Angelica in Puccini’s Suor Angelica, Calisto in Cavalli’s La Calisto, Semele in Handel’s Semele, Dido in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Second Lady in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Gasparina in Haydn’s La Canterina, Geraldine in Barber’s A Hand of Bridge, La Ciesca in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, Pauline in Barab’s A Toy Shop, Estrella in Offenbach’s La Perichole, and Belisa in the U.S. premiere of Maderna’s opera Don Perlimplìn. In addition to traditional operatic repertoire, Emerald is an active performer of avant-garde musical styles, including recent performances of vocal works by Crumb, Berio, and Schoenberg. She also loves premiering new works and has enjoyed collaborations with composers on concerts in both the U.S. and Europe.
Emerald has been teaching voice for more than ten years and specializes in classical, musical theater, contemporary styles, and voice for transgender singers. She earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in 2017 from the University of Washington, with her dissertation entitled Teaching Transgender Singers. Because of her research and experience, Emerald has been an invited speaker at the Northwest Voice Conference, the Vocology in Practice Conference in London, the London-based BAST webinar series, and NATS Chat. She was also honoured to author the “Musicians” entry in the Encyclopedia of Trans Studies.
Qualifications
Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance from the University of Washington
Master's Degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Central Oklahoma
Bachelor's Degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Central Oklahoma
Publications
• Presenter: “A Systematic Approach to Singing Voice Training for Trans and Gender Nonconforming Individuals” The Voice Foundation, Northwest Chapter, Seattle, WA 2024
• Presenter: “Practical Application: Applied Voice Teaching for Transfeminine Singers” Northwest Voice Conference, Seattle, WA 2022
• Author: “Transgender Musicians” Encyclopedia of Transgender Studies 2021
• Presenter: “Thy speech, thy song, to thee belong: Supporting transgender and gender non-conforming speakers and singers in their pursuit of a personal voice” The Voice Foundation, Northwest Chapter, Seattle, WA 2019
• Presenter: “Teaching Transgender Singers” Vocology in Practice Conference, London, UK 2018
• Presenter: “Teaching the Transgender Voice” BAST Training Webinar Series, London, UK 2017
• Panelist: “Transgender Voices: What Voice Teachers Need to Know” NATS Chat, National Association of Teachers of Singing 2017
• Presenter: “Teaching Transgender Singers” Northwest Voice Conference, Seattle, WA 2017
• Presenter: “Extended Vocal Techniques” Northwest Voice Conference, Seattle, WA 2016