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The American mezzo-soprano and voice pedagogue, Hayley Shoemaker (Funk), obtained her Bachelor of Music in Vocal performance, summa cum laude, from studied at Fort Hays State University; her Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance (2019) and her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Vocal Performance (2023) from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. As an advocate for accessible opera, her research focus has been the study and definition of an emerging operatic genre known as micro-opera. In summer 2024, she collaborated with the Lincoln Opera Project produced six micro-operasto which were traveled and performed across the Midwest. She presented her research at the 2024 National Opera Association Annual Conference.
Known for her "vibrant and sonorous" sound, Hayley Shoemaker is equally at home on the operatic, musical theatre, concert, and recital stages. Highlights of her many stage experiences include the title role in Georges Bizet's Carmen with Lawrence Opera Theatre, Frida Image in El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego with Opera Omaha, Prince Charmant in Cendrillon with Opera in the Ozarks as well as Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, Third Lady in W.A. Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, India in The Real Gemma Jordan, Rachel in The Highest Yellow, Angelina in La Cenerentola, Penelope in The Return of Ulysses, and Dorabella in W.A. Mozart's Così fan tutte. She also sang the role of Bradamante in George Frideric Handel's Alcina as a resident artist at William Jewel College (November-December 2023), and made her debut with Heartland Opera Theatre in June 2024 in the role of Dido in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas. Most recently, she traveled to Eutin, Germany where she reprised the role of Carmen in the 2024 Eutiner Festspiele.
Hayley Shoemaker has served as Graduate Assistant at University of Nebraska-Lincoln (December 2016-September 2022), at Nebraska Wesleyan University, Adjunct Professor of Voice (classical and musical theater technique) at Hastings College in Hastings, Nebraska (August 2021-May 2024), and Assistant Professor of Applied Voice at Fort Hays State University (FHSU): department of music in Hays, Kansas (since August 2024). She is a current member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and will serve as the 2024-2025 Auditions Chair for the West Central Region. She also holds membership in the National Opera Association. She currently lives in Hays, Kansas/ |
