Katherine Polit

Hailed by Opera News as “vibrant,” soprano Katherine Polit is a passionate performer and educator. Embracing a broad range of styles, she is both an advocate for new music and an avid lover of the Great American Songbook. She relishes the opportunity to perform in Southern California alongside her role as a member of the voice faculty at San Diego State University, with recent highlights including John Mackey’s Songs from the End of the World at the Balboa Theater with San Diego State University’s Symphony Orchestra, Jordan Kuspa’s A Long Trip with the North Coast Symphony, Eurydice in Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld with Opera à la Carte, as well as multiple performances with La Jolla Symphony and Chorus, Del Mar International Composers Symposium, Bodhi Tree Concerts, and San Diego Opera.

Nationally, she debuted at Lincoln Center singing the soprano solos in Vivaldi’s Gloria, and has enjoyed appearances with Helena Symphony, Charlotte Symphony, Owensboro Symphony, Virginia Symphony, Pacific Symphony, Evansville Philharmonic, and Orchestra Santa Monica. Her symphonic repertoire includes Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Mozart’s Exsultate, jubilate, the soprano solos in Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and Handel’s Messiah. She has also been featured with Virginia Opera, Opera Naples, Opera Louisiane, Ohio Light Opera, and Charlottesville Opera. Ännchen (Der Freischütz), Musetta (La Bohème), Nannetta (Falstaff), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Belinda (Dido and Aeneas), Fiona (Brigadoon), and Rose Maybud (Ruddigore), and are among her notable roles.

Katherine completed her Doctor of Music in Vocal Literature and Performance at Indiana University, focusing on the pedagogical uses of Great American Songbook repertoire in the classical voice studio. She also holds a Master of Music in Opera Performance from the University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor of Humanities and Arts from Carnegie Mellon University.