Soprano & Voice Teacher · Utah

Find Your Voice.
Discover Your Joy.

Private vocal instruction with Utah soprano Laurel James — classical bel canto technique, a warm and safe studio environment, and a deep belief that singing is one of life's greatest joys.

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Laurel James, soprano and voice teacher

Welcome

Laurel James,
Soprano & Voice Teacher

This website has been created to provide expanded access to potential students for viewing my teaching résumé and performance biography. Here you'll also find a few words from my own teacher, who I have worked with for years, and from one of my students.

As an additional piece of context: years ago I attended a lecture-workshop on jazz vocal production. Having been trained in bel canto — Italian technique — I came away with a piece of wisdom that has stayed with me ever since. The workshop instructor mentioned that her problem with most classical instruction was that it "trained the joy out of singing."

Singing is all about joy — for both the singer and the listener. At least it should be! Through all the contests, competitions, and auditions won or lost, the single "polished jewel" that remains is the simple joy of making sound, of giving voice to what lies within.

I have loved helping and watching students move through their own personal journeys — being a witness and a partner in the mind- and soul-stretching process of discovering one's own unique sound.

My best to you,
Laurel James

Read Full Biography Now Accepting Students
Laurel James performing
35+
Years of Private
Teaching Experience
Top 20
of 800 International Singers
MacAllister Awards, Indianapolis
M.M.
Vocal Performance
University of Utah

Performance Biography

A Career of Distinction

Operatic Roles

Ms. James made her operatic debut as Gretel in Utah Opera's production of Hansel and Gretel, and has returned many times in a diverse repertoire:

  • The Fire and the Princess — Ravel's L'Enfant et les Sortileges, Utah Opera
  • Flora — Britten's Turn of the Screw, Utah Opera
  • Madame Goldentrill & Miss Silverpeal — Mozart's The Impresario, Utah Opera
  • Papagena — Mozart, Utah Opera
  • Monica — Menotti's The Medium, Utah Opera
  • Laetitia — Menotti's The Old Maid and the Thief, Utah Opera
  • Amore — Gluck's Orpheo ed Euridice
  • Adele — Strauss's Die Fledermaus
  • Nella — Puccini's Gianni Schicchi
  • Eve (lead, world premiere) — William Call's First Cast a Stone

Concert & Oratorio

  • Soprano Soloist, Carmina Burana — Eugene Ballet Company, Northwestern tour
  • Vivaldi's Gloria — with the Utah Symphony
  • Schubert's Mass in A-flat Major — Eugene Concert Choir
  • Mozart's Ruhe Sanft and Exultate Jubilate — Oregon Mozart Players
  • Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream — Ballet West
  • Berlioz's L'Enfance du Christ
  • Handel's Messiah
  • Charpentier's Te Deum
  • Mozart's Coronation Mass and Requiem — SLCC Artists & St. Paul's Episcopal Church
  • Bach's St. Matthew's Passion and Magnificat — University of Utah Choral & Salt Lake City Choral Artists
  • Haydn's The Creation
  • Monteverdi's Vespers
  • Fauré's Requiem — Rogue Valley Symphony
Winner of the Utah/Western Division of the Metropolitan Opera Auditions and Regional Finalist in Denver, Colorado. Placed among the Top 20 out of 800 international singers at the MacAllister Awards for Professional Opera Singers in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Recital & Community

  • Frequent recitalist, Temple Square Concert Series
  • Festival of the Madeleine Concert Series
  • St. James Benefit Concert Series — in aid of the Salt Lake City Homeless Shelter
  • Member, Mormon Tabernacle Choir
  • Former Faculty, Snow College

Teaching Résumé

Trained by the World's Best.
Now Teaching Utah's Next Generation.

Education & Experience

Masters of Music — Vocal Performance
University of Utah
Bachelor of Music
Utah State University

Additional Experience

  • 35+ Years of Private Teaching
  • Snow College — Voice Faculty, 2011–2016
  • Utah Opera — Young Artist Apprentice Program

Private Instruction — Studied With

  • James Dietsch — Manhattan, New York
  • Lo Soh Tuan — London, England
  • Julie Wright-Costa — University of Utah
  • JoAnn Ottley — University of Utah; Vocal Teacher, Mormon Tabernacle Choir
  • Betty Jean Chipman — University of Utah

Coaches

  • Paul Dorgan — Principal Coach, Utah Opera & University of Utah
  • Lynn Keisker — Principal Coach, Utah Festival Opera
  • Steven Crawford — New York City Opera, Manhattan
  • Tim Lindberg — New York City Opera & Opera Idaho
  • Peter Grunberg — Principal Coach, San Francisco Opera
  • Phyllis Curtin — Boston Conservatory of Music
  • Joan Dornamen — Principal Vocal Coach, Metropolitan Opera

Student & Colleague Voices

Words from Those Who Know

"Laurel James is the whole package. A singer needs a voice, a great body of skills, a balanced and useful repertoire, high energy to reach an audience, and a level of intelligence that can keep it all going at once. Laurel is all of these and more."

JoAnn Ottley Adjunct, University of Utah & BYU–Hawaii · MTC Vocal Coach

"Laurel transcends what it means to be a vocal teacher! Laurel's knowledge of the human voice sets her apart from other instructors. She is warm and creates a safe environment to learn and experiment in vocally, all while protecting the voice and keeping it healthy. Laurel takes the time to understand her students' goals and will work tirelessly to help them reach them. She has prepared me for vocal competitions, auditions, and numerous performances and I trust her completely. I've had the opportunity to study with many wonderful professors and musicians who have offered top notch vocal education, however Laurel's teaching style and vocals are unparalleled. If you are looking for a top of the line vocal teacher, you just found her!"

Samantha Wursten Competitions, Auditions & Performances

"I've had the opportunity to study with many teachers. All have offered great learning, but Laurel is top-notch. She has opened my voice to areas I never had the nerve to explore. Laurel creates an environment that is focused and disciplined but feels safe to experiment and risk. Laurel knows the voice inside and out. If it weren't for Laurel, I never would have had the courage to sing classically. The tools she has given me has not only opened me up to the possibility of singing classically, she has expanded my range tenfold in jazz music and musical theatre performance. My voice is freer and stronger on jazz gigs. She has brought me to an entirely new level of singing."

Nicole Madison Jazz, Musical Theatre & Classical

Studio Philosophy

The Joy at the Heart of Singing

Singing is all about joy — for both the singer and the listener.

Through all the contests, competitions, and auditions won or lost, the single "polished jewel" that remains is the simple joy of making sound — of giving voice to what lies within. In Laurel's studio, technical excellence and personal joy are never at odds. They grow together. The bel canto tradition that grounds every lesson is not a cage — it's a key. A key to clarity, to health, to power, and ultimately to freedom.

Hear Laurel Sing

Listen & Experience

Alla Selva
Laurel James · Soprano
0:00 —
1 Alla Selva —
2 I Wish It So (Juno) —
3 Praise —
4 Exsultate —

Now Accepting Students

Let's Talk About Your Voice

Laurel is currently accepting students for the current school year. Fill out the form and she'll be in touch to answer questions and schedule your first lesson.

Location
Wasatch Front, Utah
Exact address provided upon enrollment
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