Karen Kness

Soprano Karen Kness, assistant professor of voice at Western Michigan University, has performed throughout the United States, as well as in Costa Rica, the United Kingdom, and Mexico. Her repertoire includes Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music, Mozart’s Great Mass in C Minor, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and St. Johannes Passion, Vaughn Williams’ Hodie, Haydn’s Creation, Faure’s Requiem, John Rutter’s Magnificat, Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem and Handel’s Solomon. At home on both operatic and concert stages, Kness’ opera roles include: Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Monica in The Medium, Lucy Honeychurch in the Midwest premier of A Room with a View, Madame Herz in Der Schauspieldirektor, and Miss Titmouse in Edwin Penhorwood’s Too Many Sopranos. She has been a soloist with numerous orchestras, including the Omaha Symphony Chamber Orchestra, Lincoln Symphony, the Mozart Festival Orchestra in Indianapolis, the Heartland Philharmonic Orchestra, Kalamazoo Symphony, the Bethany Messiah Festival Orchestra, the Opera Maya Festival Orchestra, and the Symphonic Orchestra of Quintana Roo in Mexico. She also served for two years as the featured soloist for the Bach chamber ensemble Collegium Musicum Concordia, and has placed in numerous vocal competitions, including the Soli Deo Gloria Cantorum Vocal Competition, the Vera Scammon Vocal Competition, and NATS. Before coming to Western, Kness served on the faculties at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and at Doane College, and has also served as a member of the voice faculties for the Opera Maya Summer Festival in Playa del Carmen, Mexico and the Opera Oasis Young Artist Program in Sarasota, Florida. She holds a doctoral degree in vocal performance and literature from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and bachelor and master of music degrees from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.