Grammy-Nominated Soprano Malinda Haslett To Lead USM Voice Department Fall 2018

Grammy-nominated soprano, Malinda Haslett, will join University of Southern Maine's School of Music as division leader of the Voice Department, beginning in Fall 2018. A former staff member at the Metropolitan Opera, Haslett is currently vocal division director of the Silicon Valley Chamber Music Festival.

As the new artistic center of the voice degree programs, Haslett will take the lead recruiting students, assigning students to voice teachers, developing curriculum and standards, as well as teaching private voice lessons.

Firmly established on the world stage as a multifaceted performer and international scholar, Malinda Haslett has over thirty leading roles to her name. Her North American operatic highlights, including those in Canada and Mexico, are comprised of titular roles: Violetta in "La Traviata," Juliette in "Roméo et Juliette," and Marie in "La Fille du Régiment." Other significant roles include: Mimí and Musetta in "La Bohème," Nedda in "I Pagliacci," Susanna in "Le Nozze di Figaro," Adina in "L'Elisir d'Amore," Norina in "Don Pasquale," Pamina, Erste Dame, and Papagena in "Die Zauberflöte," Oscar in "Un Ballo in Maschera," Leïla in "Les Pêcheurs des Perles," Nannetta in "Falstaff," both Donna Anna and Zerlina in "Don Giovanni," and a world premiere performance of Lulu in the Grammy Award-winning "Elmer Gantry," by Robert Aldridge and Herschel Garfein, and Erste Mädchen in Hindemith's "Das Nusch-Nuschi," which had its American premiere in Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall

"We are thrilled to welcome our new colleague and we are looking forward to the music she will bring to us, our students and our community," said Alan Kaschub, director of the USM School of Music.

Haslett has served on the vocal faculties of University of Pennsylvania, Stony Brook University, and Towson University, and is a recipient of the prestigious Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship, and is currently a William J. Fulbright Scholar semi-finalist.

She earned her Doctor of Music in Arts degree at Stony Brook University where she specialized in early 20th century French repertoire. She has also earned degrees from Loyola University, Temple University, Accademia Internazionale delle Arti (Rome), and Stony Brook University.

In addition to her musical life, Haslett has a culinary degree from The Institute of Culinary Education (New York), has run two New York City Marathons, and is a wildly passionate lover of animals.