BIOGRAPHY
I’m Ciara Emily Newman, a soprano from Fairbanks, Alaska, passionate about bringing opera and musical theater to diverse audiences. I find joy in sharing my love for music with others whether that be via singing or teaching. Finding unique and new ways to bring classical music to life is the goal. Collaborating with other artists to create thought provoking art is the reward.
Ciara Emily Newman is a soprano from Fairbanks, Alaska. She holds a Master’s degree in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from Penn State University as well as a Bachelor’s in Vocal Performance from Baldwin Wallace University. Since graduating Ciara has developed a career as an in demand voice teacher in north east Ohio.
Continuing to perform, she has been a guest artist at the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival, Opera Western Reserve’s Artist in Residence for the 2024-2025 season. Ciara was also seen in the world premier of Griffin Candey’s The House of Bernarda Alba as Magdalena in May of 2022. She performed in the Midwest premier of Tom Cipullo’s Glory Denied as Older Alyce Thompson. She has also had the pleasure of pursuing some outreach work with Opera Western Reserve. Including performing abridged versions of classic operas geared toward engaging the next generation of music makers.
Previous roles include Papagena in Opera Fairbanks’ production of The Magic Flute, Madame Lidoine in Baldwin Wallace University's production of Dialogues of the Carmelites, and Elisetta in Cimerosa’s Il Matrimonio Segretto. While dedicating her performance pursuits to a career on the operatic stage Ciara maintains a passion for musical theater, she has performed in regional productions of RENT, The Wizard of Oz, Les Misérables, The Music Man, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and more.
Her credits as a teacher and administrator include work with Aurora School of Music, Kent State University, Lakewood Music Academy, Hawaii Performing Arts Festival and most recently Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival. Ciara loves to teach all styles of music. At Penn State she was encouraged to revisit her love for music theater, pop, jazz, R&B, and classic rock. All musical styles are supported in her studio, from belt to The Beatles to Bach. Her goal is to provide the student with firm knowledge of their own instrument as every voice is unique, leading them to be a versatile and flexible musician.
