Sarah Joyce Cooper is an award winning soprano known for her “passionate power” (Parterre Box) and “meltingly beautiful” (Opera News) singing. Recent highlights include her debut with Seattle Opera as Minnie Tate in the world premiere of Tazewell Thompson’s Jubilee; Carnegie Hall appearances as the soprano soloist in Mozart’s Requiem and Vesperae solennes de confessore with the New England Symphonic Ensemble; and the title role in James Kallembach’s American Jezebel:The Trial of Anne Hutchinson, a world premiere performance commissioned by Harvard University that tells the story of theologian, midwife, and co-founder of Rhode Island, Anne Hutchinson. Performances for the 2025-26 season include a return to Rochester Oratorio Society as the soloist in the highly anticipated Rochester premiere of Will Todd’s Mass in Blue, her debut with the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra as the soloist in Mahler’s Fourth Symphony, an appearance with the Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra as a soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and a soloist appearance in the world premiere performance of Mark Hayes’s Psalmos at Carnegie Hall. Ms. Cooper also looks forward to reprising the role of Violetta in Verdi’s La Traviata this summer with Opera Acadia at the Bar Harbor Music Festival and making her role debut as Nedda in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci with Opera Western Reserve in the fall.

Other recent performances include soloist appearances at Carnegie Hall in Poulenc’s Gloria, John Rutter’s Magnificat, and Margaret Bonds’ The Ballad of the Brown King with the New England Symphonic Ensemble; the roles of Eva and Gabriel in Haydn’s The Creation with the MIT Concert Choir and Handel and Haydn Society Chamber Choir; and her debut with the Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra in Strauss’s Vier letzte Lieder. Operatic credits include Adina in L’Elisir d’amore (Geneva Light Opera), Juliette in Roméo et Juliette (Opera Western Reserve), Violetta in La Traviata (MassOpera), Clorinda in La Cenerentola (Syracuse Opera), La Charmeuse in Thaïs (Maryland Lyric Opera), Mimì in La Bohème (Boston Opera Collaborative), Micaëla in Carmen (Prelude to Performance), Zerlina in Don Giovanni (Boston Opera Collaborative), and Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro (Savannah Voice Festival). Ms. Cooper has also appeared as a soloist with the Bar Harbor Music Festival Orchestra, the Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus, the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Oratorio Society, and the Radcliffe Choral Society at Harvard University in classic and contemporary works such as Mozart’s Exsultate, jubilate, Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, Mozart’s Coronation Mass, Will Todd’s Mass in Blue, Margaret Bonds’s Credo, and Nathaniel Dett’s The Ordering of Moses. In 2019, she was invited to perform as a soloist with the Du Bois Orchestra in the historic world premiere of Florence Price’s long-lost cantata, Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight.

As a competition winner, Ms. Cooper has received awards from the George London Foundation, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the American Prize, the Talents of the World Competition, the Coeur d’Alene Symphony Competition, and the Montpelier Classical Recital Competition. She was also nominated for a study grant from the Sarah Tucker Foundation. Most recently, she was awarded a 2024 Emerging Artist Award from the St. Botolph Club in Boston.

As a pre-med, Ms. Cooper completed her Bachelor’s Degree in French at Princeton University. She first began to develop the foundation for her “mastery of French style” (Opera News) while conducting research for her undergraduate thesis on sacred themes in the mélodies, romances, and cantiques of Gabriel Fauré. She earned her Master of Music Degree in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from Westminster Choir College, where she received the Gwynn Moose Cornell Endowed Award, given to the student who shows the most promise for a career in vocal performance.

In addition to performing, Ms. Cooper serves as volunteer Executive Assistant for Help!ComeHome!, a nonprofit dedicated to meeting the needs of under-served communities throughout the US in Jesus’ Name. Ms. Cooper is a regular volunteer with the organization, offering both her musical and administrative skills to further its mission.

In her free time, Ms. Cooper enjoys gardening, playing cello, and being active outdoors. A former competitive gymnast, she was awarded top prizes at the annual Massachusetts State Championship meet while competing for the Gymnastics Academy of Boston.

Nile Scott Photography