SHAWNETTE SULKER (soprano) has been described by the San Francisco Chronicle as a singer “…displaying a bright, superbly controlled soprano with perfectly placed coloratura.”  A frequent collaborator with Jeffrey Thomas, Ms. Sulker has performed the soprano solos in Handel’s Messiah and Bach’s Non sa che sia dolore with American Bach Soloists in San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral, and she sang the role of St. Teresa I (Four Saints in Three Acts) under his baton for the Mark Morris Dance Group in Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall. She was also featured as soprano soloist in the immensely popular UCTV (and YouTube) video of Orff’s Carmina Burana with the UC Davis University & Alumni Choruses and Symphony Orchestra in 2006. 

On the operatic stage, Ms. Sulker has been a featured artist in performances with the San Francisco Opera, The Crucible, Hawaii Opera Theatre, Union Avenue Opera, Natchez Opera Festival, Mendocino Music Festival, West Bay Opera, Berkeley Opera, North Bay Opera, San Francisco Lyric Opera, Livermore Valley Opera, Cinnabar Opera Theater, and Oakland Opera Theater. Ms. Sulker created the role of Corina in the world-premiere of David Conte’s opera Firebird Motel for Thick Description.

The young soprano has also performed as a soloist in Mozart’s Exsultate, jubilate and Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass with Santa Clara Chorale and Orchestra, in and Mozart’s Grand Mass in C minor, Monteverdi’s Vespro della Beata Vergine, and Bach’s Weihnachts-Oratorium and Magnificat with San Francisco Choral Society.  With Masterworks Chorale, Ms. Sulker has performed Fauré’s Requiem and Bernstein’s The Lark. Other recent performances include Schubert’s Mass in G, Mozart’s Requiem, Haydn’s Mass in B-flat, and Pergolesi’s Magnificat.  She has appeared with the Redwood Symphony in Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 and at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC in Mozart’s Missa Brevis in G. Her film resume includes a soundtrack performance for the movie Mimic and an on-camera operatic appearance in the feature film Jackson directed by J.F. Lawton.  Ms. Sulker can also be heard on the original cast recording of Firebird Motel by David Conte on the Arsis label.

Ms. Sulker graduated from Bennington College as a vocal performance major and was awarded scholarships to attend both the Contemporary Opera and Song Program at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada and the OperaWorks Summer Intensive Program in Los Angeles.