Kari Burgess
[adrotate banner=”24″]
Kari Burgess is a lyric soprano from Portland, OR. She recently premiered the role of Sandra in Tango of the White Gardenia written by Ethan Gans Moorse and performed with Cascadia Concert Opera. This past summer, she was also featured as an Apprentice Artist with the Astoria Music Festival and performed the role of Countess Almaviva in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro. She first performed Countess with a wonderful local Portland non-profit opera company called Ping & Woof in 2016 in Portland, OR. Last year, she debuted the role of Mimì in Puccini’s La bohème with Opera Bend and also the role of Micaëla in Carmen with the Central Oregon Symphony the previous spring. Other roles performed with Opera Bend include Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus and Pamina from Die Zauberflöte. She has also performed Mozart’s Donna Anna in Don Giovanni and Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte.
Last fall, she completed a goal on her oratorio checklist by performing the beautiful Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass with the Eugene Concert Choir. She has also appeared as a soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s The Creation and Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the California State University
Northridge Symphony and as a soprano soloist in Beethoven’s Fantasie with Portland Symphonic Choir and the Oregon Symphony. Ms. Burgess has also performed in Europe as a participant in The American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, and OperaViva! in Verona, Italy. In 2014 she received an encouragement award from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions from the Seattle district and was also finalist in Burbank’s Hennings-Fischer Young Artist competition. She received first place in the Schubertiade Lieder competition in Pasadena and was one of the winners of California State University Northridge’s concerto aria competition.
Last year she won first place in the NATS Northwest Regional Classical XIII Division where she took place in the semifinals in Boulder, CO. She also won third place in the NATS Artist Award Northwest Regional Competition and was chosen to participate in the semi-finals in Vegas for this year. She has been a recipient of many academic honors and scholarships from California State University Northridge where she completed her Masters of 
Music degree in Vocal Performance. She received her Bachelor’s of Music, also in Vocal Performance, from the University of Oregon School of Music and Dance where she performed the roles of Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro with the Eugene Opera’s Young Artist Mentor Program and Königen der Nacht in Die Zauberflöte for the University’s fall opera.
Apart from performing vocally, Kari has also studied classical piano since 1999. She teaches private voice and piano in Portland, OR while pursuing her performing career. She attributes her early love of music from the guidance of her supportive family and early music mentors. She is currently studying under the tutelage of Ruth Dobson.
