KELLY WHITESELL, soprano, is from Hebron, Connecticut. She graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance as well as in Music Education from the Eastman School of Music, studying with Katherine Ciesinski and Philip Silvey. She completes her graduate studies under the tutelage of Rod Nelman and is a Teaching Assistant at UConn. Whitesell made her professional debut with the Connecticut Lyric Opera as Cleopatra (Giulio Cesare) in 2022. Previous credits include Elle (La voix humaine), Monica (The Medium), Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Celie (Signor Deluso), Witch (Into the Woods), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), and many chorus credits including La Boheme. She received first prize in the Friends of Eastman Opera Voice Competition in 2019. Kelly enjoys membership in Schola Cantorum at the Cathedral of Saint Joseph in Hartford. She has performed concert repertoire such as Liebermann’s Six Songs on Poems of Nelly Sachs, Bach’s B-minor Mass, and jazz sets as Kelly and the Cats.

Miss Whitesell is a passionate CT and NY certified teacher. She taught as a long-term substitute at RHAM Middle and High School, where she taught Choir, Music Theory, and developed the curriculum for History of Popular Music. She holds a Teaching Assistantship with the University of Connecticut, where she provides private voice lessons to undergraduates and instructs the course Stage Skills for Singers. In 2022, she engaged 150 high schoolers on the topic of vocal health in choral settings for a ‘Young Conductor’s Symposium’ at UConn. With gratitude for the privilege and opportunities she has been granted, Kelly loves to share the joy of singing with all.