Heather Petrie, mezzo-soprano, is new to the Hartford area and is thrilled to be singing Voce. Although trained primarily in opera, Heather had the unique opportunity as an undergraduate at Bard College to study North Indian Raga, Balinese Gamelan and Middle-Eastern Bellydance. While earning her MM in Vocal Performance from SUNY Purchase Conservatory, she frequently collaborated with contemporary music ensembles and became accustomed to singing music that was not the norm. These diverse experiences prepared her for the challenge of singing Karl Jenkins’ beautifully emotional settings of Arabic and Aramaic texts – not something the average opera singer gets to do very often.

On the more classical side of things, Heather currently sings with the professional choirs Voce and CONCORA, and is a soloist at Asylum Hill Congregational Church in Hartford, where she also directs their youngest children’s choir. As a concert soloist, she has been heard with the American Symphony Orchestra, Westchester Philharmonic, Wallingford Chorale, and Yale Pro Musica. Most recently, Heather performed the role of Larina in Eugene Onegin with Connecticut Lyric Opera, and last summer sang a program of Opera Scenes at Carnegie Hall with Pacific Opera. Past roles include Arnalta (L’incoronazione di Poppea), the Page (Amahl and the Night Visitors) and Baba (The Medium). When she is not performing, Heather enjoys teaching voice lessons and is an Early Childhood Music Educator with Music Together.