Caroline Kouma, soprano, is an instructor of voice at University of Minnesota Duluth. Ms. Kouma is a passionate and versatile artist equally at home on the operatic stage and within the tapestry of an ensemble. A dynamic performer in opera and musical theatre, performed roles include Marguerite in Pick-up truck opera vol 4: Faust (Mixed Precipitation), Dater in Speed Dating Tonight! (LOON), Gretel in Opera for the Young’s Hansel and Gretel (Little LOON), Fiordiligi in Cosà fan tutte (BGSU), Semele in Semele (BGSU), Dew Fairy in Hansel and Gretel (LOON), Mabel in Opera for the Young’s The Pirates of Penzance (Little LOON), Nurse in the world premiere of Stranger from Paradise (Opera Omaha), Rosabella in The Most Happy Fella (BGSU), Meg in Little Women (Duluth Playhouse), and Heidi in [title of show] (OmniArts Nebraska). She has appeared as soprano soloist for such works as Bach’s Magnificat, Mealor’s Stabat Mater, Poulenc’s Gloria and Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem. She has had the pleasure to perform with numerous professional vocal ensembles including sounding light chamber choir (Michigan/Nebraska), Internationales Vokalensemble (Berlin, Germany), Twin Ports Choral Project Chamber Choir (Duluth, MN), Borealis (Duluth, MN), and Central Minnesota Singers (St. Joseph, MN). With an interest in the music of living composers, Ms. Kouma has been fortunate to premiere works at soundSCAPE, Omaha Under the Radar, and Toledo New Music festivals.
Caroline was the recipient of the Gary Jones Memorial and Opera Omaha Guild awards at the Nebraska district Metropolitan Opera auditions and was named District Winner in 2014-15. She was a 2017 graduate winner of the BGSU Concerto Competition and took first place awards at Ohio NATS (2018) and the Marjorie Conrad Art Song competition (2018). Ms. Kouma was also named a finalist in the Opera at Florham Vocal Competition in New Jersey (2018), Harold Haugh Light Opera Competition in Michigan (2019), and the Compostela LÃrica in Santiago de Compostela, Spain (2019). Caroline holds a Bachelor Music in Vocal Performance from Nebraska Wesleyan University and a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from Bowling Green State University. She is proud to have served with the United States Peace Corps in Azerbaijan.