"Alluring" -The New York Times
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"True, pure, and a pleasure to hear" "sang with relishable sweetness" -The Monterey Herald
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"The sweet soprano Emily Sinclair was also strong" -The New York Times
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"...the words and music were a single idea. It was a lovely and deeply felt performance." Good Times, Santa Cruz
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"Alluring" -The New York Times 〰️ "True, pure, and a pleasure to hear" "sang with relishable sweetness" -The Monterey Herald 〰️ "The sweet soprano Emily Sinclair was also strong" -The New York Times 〰️ "...the words and music were a single idea. It was a lovely and deeply felt performance." Good Times, Santa Cruz 〰️
BIOGRAPHY
Emily Sinclair is a performer, teacher, and conductor based in Santa Cruz, California, dedicated to creating an inclusive vision of music that builds community and deepens understanding through performance and education. She has appeared across the United States at venues such as the Sunset Center in Carmel and Weill Recital Hall in New York, and made her Davies Symphony Hall debut in 2023 with the San Francisco Choral Society as soprano soloist in Mozart’s Requiem. Recent highlights include Berlioz’s Nuits d’été with the Espressivo Orchestra, Baroque arias with Concertino Strings, and Poulenc’s Gloria with Cantare Chorale.
A champion of collaboration and new works, Emily has recently premiered chamber works and operas by composers including Mickey McGushin, Carolyn Chen, David Arkenstone, and Chris Pratorius-Gómez, sharing contemporary music with diverse audiences and fostering creativity across artistic disciplines.
Equally devoted to nurturing the next generation of musicians, Emily serves as Head of the Voice Area at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she teaches classical and musical theater vocal techniques. Her teaching and research focus on amplifying under-represented voices, including courses on vocal music by Black and women composers. Her students have excelled at local and regional competitions and have been accepted at top programs such as Northwestern, Carnegie Mellon, and Manhattan School of Music. Emily also maintains a private studio and offers masterclasses and choral clinics throughout the Bay Area.
Emily holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Colorado, and additional degrees from Northwestern University, Manhattan School of Music, and Yale University. She has continued her professional training in belt technique with Mary Saunders Barton, Edrie Means Weekly, and Maddie Tarbox, and is certified in Levels 1 and 2 of Evidence-Based Voice Pedagogy.
Emily’s collaborative spirit extends to the podium: she has conducted works from Hansel and Gretel to Dancing Queen, and currently leads Santa Cruz’s Fiat Musica and the Temple Beth-El Choir. Through her conducting, she strives to spark creativity, foster community, and inspire singers and audiences to discover new possibilities in music
Committed to service as well as artistry, Emily volunteers with organizations that strengthen both the musical and academic communities she is part of. At UCSC, she advocates for her colleagues by serving as the chair of the lecturers’ union on campus, where she works to build solidarity and ensure fair and supportive conditions for teaching. With the National Association of Teachers of Singing, she has served in leadership roles at both the local and regional level, including her current work as Auditions Coordinator for the Cal-Western Region. Through this service, she views advocacy, like performance and teaching, as a way to create possibilities, nurture community, and deepen understanding.