Artist Biography

Carline Waugh, a Jamaican-born soprano praised for her ability to mesmerize audiences, has performed throughout the United States, Italy, Russia, Jamaica and other parts of the world. A powerful singing actor, she has appeared in three Italian premieres with the International Opera Theatre−as Ermia in “Sogno di una notte di mezza estate Sogno di Una Notte di Mezza Estate" by Von De Guzmán, the Madonna in Mariano Garau’s “Hildegard Von Bingen Bambina Mistica e Le Vergine Nera,’’ and Arlene Fox in “Buffalo Soldier,” by Carlo Pedini. She has performed with Peach State Opera as Mimi in Puccini’s “La bohème” and Michaëla in Bizet’s Carmen, and recently returned to the company as Rosalinde in “Die Fledermaus.” Other recent roles include Gretel in Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel,” Liu in “Turandot,” Zerlina in “Don Giovanni,” Valencienne in “The Merry Widow,” Polly in “Die Dreigroschenoper,” and Gianetta in “The Gondoliers.”

On the concert stage, Ms. Waugh has appeared as the soprano soloist in Poulenc’s “Gloria,” and Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder (West Virginia Symphony Orchestra), Haydn’s “Lord Nelson Mass” (Huntington Symphony Orchestra), Barber’s “Knoxville: Summer of 1915” (Missouri Symphony), Brahms’ “A German Requiem” (Colombia Choral Union), Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess” (St. Petersburg, Russia, Symphony Orchestra), and Dubois’ “Seven Last Words of Christ” (The Haverford Singers). Other recent performances include Handel’s “Messiah,” Mozart’s “Requiem in D Minor” and J.S. Bach’s “Magnificat in D Major.”

Ms. Waugh has won competitions including the Monroe Symphony’s Marjorie Stricklin Vocal Competition, the Beethoven Club of Memphis Vocal Competition, Thayer Young Artist Competition, the National Association of Teachers of Singing Regional Competition, the Classical Singer Regional Competition, and the Young Artist Competition sponsored by the National Association of Business and Professional Women’s Club of Long Island. She has been a finalist in the Harlem Opera and the Opera Ebony Vocal Competitions in New York and was a regional winner for the New York Lyric Opera Competition. She has received scholarship awards from foundations including the Jamaica CHASE Fund, the Music Club of Baton Rouge, and the Baton Rouge Opera Guild.

She earned a Bachelor of Music Performance at Atlantic Union College, a Master of Music Performance at the University of Mississippi, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance from Louisiana State University. Since earning her doctorate, she has lectured at Lincoln University (MO), Jacksonville University (FL), and is currently an Associate Professor of Voice at Marshall University (WV). Ms. Waugh was recently awarded a Future of Music Faculty Fellowship, powered by the Sphinx Venture Fund and administered by the Cleveland Institute of Music.