Kimberly Jones

Education
BM Westminster Choir College

About
Soprano Kimberly Eileen Jones is an alum of the Ryan Opera Center with the prestigious Lyric Opera of Chicago. Her performances there include the slave girl, Margru, in the world premiere of Anthony Davis' Amistad, which was released nationally on the New World recording label. She also portrayed the feisty Olga in Fedora, Princess Xenia in Boris Godunov and the spitfire Despina in Cosi Fan Tutte student matinee performances. With the Ryan Opera Center, she portrayed Laetitia in Menotti's Old Maid and the Thief. Additionally, she made her Grant Park Festival debut as Zerlina (Don Giovanni) and Adele (Die Fledermaus) the following season.

Kimberly performed in Houston Grand Opera's colorful production of The Magic Flute (Papagena), and reprised her role of Xenia in Boris Godunov. Also with Houston, she participated in their production of Porgy and Bess, as Clara. This tour graced the international stages of La Scala in Milan, the Bastille in Paris and the Bunkamura in Tokyo, Japan. For her portrayal of Clara, she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress by the NAACP Awards.

She captivated audiences in her Alice Tully Hall debut with the Little Orchestra Society, in an evening of Vivaldi arias. She received rave reviews as the Composer in Mozart's Jewel Box with the Chicago Opera Theater, as well as Mahler's Second Symphony with the Madison Symphony. She has also appeared in concert with the Ravinia Festival (Bourgeois Gentilhomme), Richmond Symphony (Knoxville: Summer of 1915) and with Madison Symphony (Messiah and Christmas Pops) . Her first Carmina Burana and Haydn The Creation were performed with the Rockford Symphony. She was showcased in an afternoon of arias and duets during the opening weekend of Jay Pritzker Pavilion of Millennium Park in Chicago.

She was selected by Maestro Bruno Bartoletti, Lyric Opera's former Artistic Director, to appear with the Orchestra della Toscana in Florence, La Spezia and Piombino. She was one of four opera center artists showcased in a series of concerts at the Chatelet in Paris, France.

She has received a George London grant, Sullivan grant, and a Licia Albanese Encouragement grant. She has been nominated for the Richard Tucker grant, received three grants from the MacAllister Awards competition, and was awarded the Richard Gold Career Grant from the Lyric Opera of Chicago. She is a Union League Civic and Arts Foundation (now Luminarts) prize winner . At the recommendation from Ardis Krainik, she was presented in Opera Now magazine's "Who's Hot in Opera".

She has performed the Philip Glass Symphony #5 at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Germany, and with the Stuttgart and Danish Radio Symphonies in Germany and Copenhagen. She has performed four times at the Chicago Cultural Center in Preston Bradley Hall, including a WFMT radio broadcast of the Dame Myra Hess concert, and a Negro Spirituals concert with award winning actress, Irma P. Hall.

She made her Connecticut Opera debut as Fiordigili in Cosi Fan Tutte. With Lyric Opera's Opera in the Neighborhoods, she has portrayed the title role of Cenerentola, and twice the role of Rosina (Barber of Seville). She has performed a Christmas Pops concert with DuPage Symphony and Messiah with New Buffalo and Michigan City Symphonies. With Ryan Center of Lyric Opera of Chicago, she has been featured three times in Meet the Artist, presenting a musical program to Chicago area schools, sharing her life as an operatic artist.

Kimberly returned to Mandel Hall singing Vaughn Williams' Sea Symphony under the baton of Barbara Schubert, which was followed by her first Mendelssohn's Psalm 42 in Glenview and Haydn Lord Nelson Mass excerpts. She has participated in several Lyric Opera Chapters concerts around the Chicago and suburban areas. She made her Grand Rapids Symphony debut with Maestro David Lockington in Handel's Messiah, as well as with the North Shore Choral Society. In the Brahms Requiem she was the soprano soloist at Mandel Hall, which was followed by a pops concert in Park Ridge . She repeated her performances of Mozart's Exultate Jubilate, Requiem and Regina Coeli with the Elmhurst Chorale.

She is a recurring artist with the Michigan City Chamber Music Festival. She performed with international bass, Andrea Silvestrelli, in Barrington Hills. She returned to Rockefeller Chapel presenting more Bach selections and has been a recurring soprano soloist in Handel's Messiah . She was the soprano soloist in Bruckner's Mass with Elmhurst Choral Union. She returned to Elmhurst Choral Union, singing arias and duets. With South Bend Symphony, she performed in her first Britten War Requiem. Shortly after she sang the soprano solos in her first Verdi Requiem with Chicago Community Chorus.

She was very excited to debut in Singapore with the Singapore Chinese Orchestra in an evening of Porgy and Bess excerpts and spirituals, and a video. She has recently joined with fellow sopranos Leila Bowie and Marisa Buchheit, forming the soprano trio group, called simply, Tres Belle.

Recent engagements include Carmina Burana with the Chicago Sinfonietta, Beethoven Mass in C with the DePaul Community Chorus. She was showcased in Andrew Previn's masterpiece Honey and Rue at South Shore Opera. She was in the ensemble of Chicago Opera Theater's production of A Coffin in Egypt, with legendary mezzo Frederique Von Stade.

She has been a returning guest with Yachatz Festival in Yachatz, Oregon. She performed Porgy and Bess excerpts with the Northwest Indiana Symphony and that concert was repeated this fall. Last winter she returned to Elmhust Choral singing the Respighi's Holy Nativity solos, and was showcased in the Christmas Pops concerts with South Bend Symphony for Maestro Tsung Yeh's retiring season.

She performed with DePaul again in their spring concert, singing several music theatre and Purcell favorites. One of Kimberly's favorite past times is periodically singing the National Anthem for the fabulous Chicago Bulls and was chosen to perform the Anthem for the opening night game for the Chicago Sky WNBA team. Other recent engagements include a Porgy and Bess concert with the New Philharmonic and the title role of The Fairy Queen with Chicago Opera Theater, repeated with Long Beach Opera this past January.

Upcoming engagements include the world premiere of Stewart Copeland's Invention of Morel with Chicago Opera Theater as Dora, Dvorak Symphony with Fox Valley Symphony, and Midsummer Nights' Dream with Fort Wayne Symphony.


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