Austin Nikirk is a recent graduate of the Sunderman Conservatory at Gettysburg College (B.M. Voice/Opera). She also studied at the École Normale de Musique with internationally renowned soprano Sylvie Valayre during the fall of 2018.
An active performer, Austin has been a featured soloist with the Gettysburg College choirs and the Gettysburg College Symphony Orchestra. She has studied with Colleen Case, Phyllis Burg, Susan Hochmiller, Philip Olsen, Sylvie Valayre, and Jeffery Fahnestock. Her roles include Cis (Albert Herring), First Witch (Dido and Aeneas), Adele (Die Fledermaus), Daters #9 and 19 (Speed Dating Tonight), Ms. Todd (The Old Maid and the Thief), and Cendrillon (Cendrillon, Viardot). She has also performed with Peabody Opera, the Annapolis Opera company, Chesapeake Opera, and Sunderman Opera Workshop, among others. She was a Stewart Senior Honors Recitalist, a winner at AMC NATS Student Auditions in 2017 and 2019, and a national semifinalist at the Classical Singer Competition in 2019. As a section leader, Austin has sung with Second Presbyterian in Baltimore, MD and Christ Lutheran in Gettysburg, PA. As a conductor, Austin has worked with many area choirs. She has served as the Assistant Director for the McDonogh concert choir and senior singers, Gettysburg College’s College Choir and Audeamus (upper voices). During their 2019-2020 season, Austin interned with the Gettysburg Children's Choir, where she now serves as an Assistant Director. Growing up, Austin sang and worked with the Children’s Chorus of Maryland and the American Kodály Children’s Chorus, and today she sings with Lux, a professional choir in Washington D.C. Austin recently moved to Amiens, France, to work as an assistant des langues vivantes in English and Music classes at two middle schools. |