Growing up the daughter of a preacher and a teacher in the Midwest instilled in me a deep and lasting passion and calling for community, music, education and nature. And as an intuitive, gifted, visionary and creative individual I believe that my life’s work needs to address and foster the ability of people to recognize the divinity of each person on earth. Sitting through church services every Sunday, the element of worship that felt most divine to me from a young age was music. Music, especially singing, could be felt in the body and that power of connection has been a source of energy, healing, and transformation for me that I hope to pass on to the world.

I received my Bachelor of Music in music education from Simpson College in Indianola, IA where I also performed in numerous opera productions and assistant directed two operas.  I was awarded best female musician of my class and graduated summa cum laude.  My Master of Music degree in vocal performance was then completed at University of Nebraska, Lincoln. 

As a musician, I have most strongly established myself as a mezzo-soprano, and am noted for a warm, rich tone, versatile style, soulful connection, and magnetic stage presence.  I make my home on the operatic stage, the musical theater stage, oratorio and concert stage, and in worship settings as a mezzo-soprano, pianist, organist, and conductor. 

I am an accomplished keyboardist, coaching and accompanying singers primarily as well as playing for instrumentalists, ensembles and shows for 23 years, often while teaching and directing at the same time. Church music and music education has also been an integral part of my career. I have taught the very young to the very old in various settings for over twenty years including private voice and piano, early childhood music, children’s and adult church music ensembles, musicals and workshops, secondary vocal music, and as an adjunct musical theatre voice professor at the University of Memphis and at Kirkwood College. 

I have loved singing for Opera Memphis in multiple productions and outreach events, include singing the role of Zulma in The Italian Girl in Algiers. I have appeared on stage for various other companies including Theatre Memphis, Opera Omaha, Des Moines Metro Opera, Revival Theatre, University of Iowa Theatre, City Circle Acting Company, Quad Cities Opera, Riverside Theatre, Theatre Cedar Rapids and more.

In the last year, I played the role of Eve in Children of Eden at Saint Andrew Presbyterian Church. Then I vocal directed and sang the role of Mary/Opera Singer in Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 at Riverside, and played the lead role in Theatre Cedar Rapid’s Brucemore production of Once. Next June, I will sing the role of Donna Elvira for Quad Cities Opera.

As a concert soloist, I have sung with Rhodes Mastersingers and the Memphis Symphony in Bach’s B Minor Mass, and a regional premier of Jennifer Higdon’s Ruminations featured on a PBS special “Articulate”.  I was privileged to sing in a dynamic live film score showing of Joan of Arc with the composer George Sarah.  A few other major works include Bach’s Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, Britten’s Ceremony of Carols, Handel’s Messiah, and a performance of Haydn’s Harmonie Messe at Carnegie Hall. I am now a Bach Vocal Artist for the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park, Florida and am appearing in a concerts in February, May, and next season.

I am an accomplished keyboardist, coaching and accompanying singers primarily as well as playing for instrumentalists, ensembles and shows. Church music and music education has also been an integral part of my career. I have taught the very young to the very old in various settings for over twenty years including private voice and piano, early childhood music, children’s and adult church music ensembles, musicals and workshops, secondary vocal music, and as an adjunct musical theatre voice professor at the University of Memphis and at Kirkwood College.  I am excited to now be growing and expanding my studio Knightingale Voice.

My greatest joy in life is raising my two delightful children and meeting and marrying the love of my life, Adam Knight in Iowa City where we now reside.