Lori Celeste Hicks debuted with Opera Theater of Pittsburgh as Bess in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess in 2009 and with El Paso Opera in this same role in 2010. During the 2008-2009 season, her engagements included soloist in the Verdi Requiem with the Holland Symphony Orchestra, and also at the Blessed Sacrament Cathedral in Detroit; Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with the Arbor Opera Theater; a “Tribute to Black Pioneers in Music” gala concert in Denver singing alongside tenor George Shirley in Act IV of Verdi’s Otello; a holiday concert at the library of Lincoln Center; and several recitals in Michigan, Colorado and Ohio.
Internationally, Ms. Hicks has been featured in concerts and recitals throughout Italy and France, as well as starring in the role of Alice Ford in Verdi’s Falstaff under the baton of Maestro Joseph Rescigno. A frequent performer in the Midwest, Lori as been engaged in title roles including Mimi in La Boheme, Fiordiligi in Cosi Fan Tutte, Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus, Laetitia in Menotti’s The Old Maid and the Thief, and the world premier of James P. Johnson’s jazz opera Dreamy Kid. Her concert work has included Verdi’s Requiem, Saint-Saens’ Oratorio de Noel, Bach’s Magnificat, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Handel’s Messiah, and the Wesendonck Lieder of Richard Wagner.
Ms. Hicks has been the winner of several vocal competitions including the prestigious Metropolitan Opera Competition in the South Carolina and Michigan districts, Bowling Green State University’s song competition, the Lima Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition, the NANM International Spiritual Festival Competition and the National Solo Voice Competition, and the University of Michigan Concerto Competition.
A native of Detroit Michigan, Ms. Hicks is the recipient of the Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Michigan (2007), Masters of Music from Bowling Green State University (2004), and Bachelors of Music Education from Kentucky State University (2002). She has previously held faculty positions in voice at the University of Dayton and Central State University in Ohio. She currently is Professor of Voice and Opera at Claflin University in Orangeburg, SC.
