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The American soprano, Erika Lehnen Sgroi, was recognised as a young singer of great potential from a very young age. Rigorous musical studies during her high school years in Baring, Maine with her mentor, Canadian soprano, Sharon Crowther as well as a scholarship to attend the Boston University Tanglewood Institute paved the way for Erika's acceptance with a Full Scholarship to the prestigious Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music (CCM). She studied there under the vocal direction of tenor, Tom Baresel, and obtained her Bachelor of Music degree in voice. During her time at CCM, she sang the role of Miles in a memorable and eery production of Benjamin Britten's Turn of the Screw and also sang the role of Cis in Albert Herring. She obtained her Master of Music degree in opera from the McGill University Schulich School of Music in Montreal, Quebec in 2008, where she attended as a Schulich Scholar. Her vocal studies at McGill were overseen by Joanne Kolomyjec and Sanford Sylvan. At McGill Erika furthered her stage experience again in B. Britten's Albert Herring, this time as Miss Wordsworth and also sang the role of Oberto in George Frideric Handel's Alcina.
As an important part of her studies Erika Lehnen Sgroi has participated in several prestigious young artist programs such as the Opera, Theatre, and Music Festival of Lucca Italy, the Aspen Music Festival and School, and the SongFest program in Malibu California. Since graduation she has continued to study voice privately with her former teacher, Thomas Baresel in Cincinnati, Ohio and in Dublin, Ireland with renowned voice teacher and soprano, Mary Brennan. Other recent teachers and coaches have included Diane Forlano in Ghent, Belgium, Ana Camelia Stefanescu and Ciprian Zeno Popescu in Brussels and conductor and coach David Miller in Brussels. She has also very actively pursued her study of French, German, Italian, and Spanish including a recent 3 month period of intensive German study at the Goethe Institute in Berlin.
Erika Lehnen-Sgroi currently resides in Mons, Belgium and is poised to embark upon an international operatic career. Full of ambition and energy she is constantly improving all aspects of her musical technique and performance. She possesses a warm soprano voice of power and remarkable agility and excells at singing everything from G.F. Handel to Strauss. She is very interested in being a part of musical projects from opera, to concert and recital.
Erika Lehnen-Sgroi is the recipient of a "Premio Segnalati" at the Concorso Internazionale di Canto Lirico, in Lendinara, Italy 2012. The Concorso Lirico Internazionale “Musica InCanto” in Jesolo, Italy and the Concours Lyrique International “Bell’ Arte,” Braine L’Alleud, Belgium have also selected her as a finalist in 2012. She is actively improving and perfecting her repertoire through singing lessons and coachings. |
