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The American soprano, Jazmine Christina Saunders, began singing at 3 years old. By the 9th grade she knew she was interested in becoming an opera singer thanks to her exposure to classical music at Greece Odyssey Academy. She has had many opportunities to develop her artistic talents: with 14 years in dance schools including the Rochester City Ballet, 9 years of clarinet lessons, and ongoing participation in school choirs, church choirs and voice lessons. Beginning at age 6, she was actively involved in musical theater through RAPA (The Rochester Association of Performing Arts) and throughout middle school and high school. Born and raised at Faith Church, she has been exposed to gospel, contemporary gospel, and contemporary Christian music all of her life. By age 17, she became a worship leader at Faith Church and is actively involved in the worship ministry. For a time she struggled with whether she would be a worship leader or opera singer until she realized that she could do both. In addition to gospel and praise and worship music, her favorite music to sing is Italian opera (especially “Bel Canto” style), and Verdi art songs. In the 11th grade she participated in the Young Artist Auditions, the region’s most prestigious competition for high school age musicians hosted by the Rochester Philharmonic League, and won the Tessa Martin Award for Female Vocalists. She was accepted by 5 music schools and chose to attend the Eastman School of Music in 2018 because of her previous involvement with and fondness for the school.
Jazmine Saunders obtained her Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester (2017-2022), studying with Robert Swensen. After beginning as a mezzo-soprano, she moved up to soprano during her first year and delivered one of the most outstanding final juries in the Spring of 2019. In the Summer of 2019, she participated in the Italian language program Si Parla Si Canta, in Arona, Italy, having been awarded a Friends of Eastman Opera opportunity grant. As a freshman in the Fall of 2018, she became a member of the Eastman Chorale (Director: William Weinert). She was selected to sing the soprano solos in J.S. Bach's Cantata BWV 114 in October 2019, in Eastman School of Music: Bach Cantata Series, as the only undergraduate soloist alongside three graduate students featured on that work, performed at Reformation Lutheran Church.
In January 2020, Jazmine Saunders was one of the featured performers for the William Warfield Scholarship Fund special event, “An Intimate Afternoon with George Shirley”, held as part of the celebration of George Shirley’s lifetime achievements. That same week, she participated in events related to the faculty search for a new voice teacher at Eastman. All that month, she was in rehearsals as the cover for the role of Tonina in Eastman Opera Theatre’s production of Prima la Musica e Poi le Parole, a comic opera by Antonio Salieri. She was called to perform on very short notice in one of the final dress rehearsals and sang and acted with utmost confidence. She was cast in the ensemble for Sweeney Todd, Eastman’s spring opera production that had to be cancelled due to COVID-19. She later sang at Eastman as a soloist in W.A. Mozart's Missa Brevis in F Major, K. 192 (October 2021); and such roles as Lady with Hand Mirror/An Opera Singer in Dominick Argento's Postcards From Morocco (Eastman Opera Theatre, February-March 2021), the title role in Francesco Cavalli's La Calisto (Eastman Opera Theatre, February 2022), Witch in Into the Woods (Eastman Opera Theatre, April 2022). She maintained a 4.0 grade point average and is active with “Black Students at Eastman”. Since August 2022, she studies Vocal Arts at The Juilliard School. She currently lives in Manhattan, New York. |
