Jennifer Szeto

Vocal Coach, Head of Piano Staff

Miss Szeto is a recent graduate of the San Francisco Opera Adler Fellowship and the 2016 Merola Opera Program. Praised for her “rock-solid rhythm and a great variety of color” (Bachtrack), she was an Intern Coach at the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio, where she assisted in seven productions and appeared in over 15 recitals at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre Noon Concert Series over a two year period. Previously, she was an Artist-in-Residence the Atelier Lyrique at Opéra de Montréal, where she performed in productions of Hansel & Gretel, Old Maid and the Thief, and Amahl and the Night Visitors.

In 2018-2019, she was Assistant Conductor for John’s Estacio’s Ours at Opera on the Avalon, joined the vocal coaching staff at University of Ottawa, served as Head Coach for the Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity as part of “Opera in the 21st Century”, and returned to Calgary’s Cowtown Opera Academy as a Principal Coach. In May 2019, she makes a recital appearance for the Société d’art vocal Montréal alongside Canadian baritone Elliot Madore.

Elsewhere, Miss Szeto has held staff positions with the Calgary Opera, International Vocal Arts Institute (Tel Aviv), Canadian Vocal Arts Institute (Montreal), and serves as accompaniment staff for McGill University’s Schulich School of Music. As a music director, She has previously led productions of Cosi fan tutte and Elixir of Love for MYOpera in Toronto, as well as performances of four One Acts in English for the Halifax Summer Opera Festival.

In addition to her work as a performer, Miss Szeto is co-founder of Musique 3 Femmes, which in 2018 launched the Mécénat Musica Prix 3 Femmes – a $25,000 award supporting the creation of operas by women in Canada. The prize is awarded biennially to teams of emerging female composers and librettists and includes seed funding for new works, mentorship opportunities, and subsequent workshops and performances of new pieces. In 2019, Musique 3 Femmes is an Ensemble-In-Residence at Queen’s University’s DAN School of Music and Mount Allison University, with performances at Opera.ca’s Opera: Changing Worlds summit, Tapestry Opera’s Ernest Balmer Studio, and at the Canadian Opera Company’s Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre.

Miss Szeto holds a M.Mus. in Piano Accompaniment from McGill University, a B.Mus Performance from University of Toronto, and has received additional training from SongFest, Green Mountain Opera Festival (Vermont), Center for Opera Studies in Italy, Opera NUOVA Vocal Arts Festival (Edmonton), and the Franz Schubert Institut in Baden-bei-Wien, Austria.