Taylor Gonzaga is an American soprano and entrepreneur native to the pacific northwest. The 2021-22 season brought an artists apprenticeship with the Vincerò Academy, working under the mentorship of artistic director and conductor Abdiel Vázquez and acclaimed coach Irina Meachem. This season, Taylor was the second prize winner of the Charleston International Autumn Vocal Competition. Concert and operatic engagements include collaborations with the Feminine Lyrique Ensemble’s digital concert series, soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah (abridged) at Portland’s Grotto Festival of Lights, and cinematic performances with Opera Cecilia, a west coast regional company of which Taylor is also the artistic director and founder. Past seasons have also brought recognition with the National Association of Teachers of Singing, Onstage New York, and The University of Portland Concerto Aria Competition.

 

Taylor has performed the roles of Euridice in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice, Lucy in Menotti’s The Telephone, Kate and Edith in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Yeomen of the Guard and The Pirates of Penzance, Suor Agnese in Giordano’s Mese Mariano, Venere in Cavalli’s L’egisto, and Giulietta in Offenbach's Les Contes de Hoffmann (abridged), filmed at Minnesota's historic Glensheen Mansion estate. Taylor has prepared and coached the full roles of Miss Pinkerton in Menotti’s The Old Maid And The Thief, Madame Goldentrill in Mozart’s The Impresario, Musetta in Puccini’s La bohème, and Barbarina in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro with the University of Minnesota Duluth Opera Studio and the Vincero Academy, and engaged in professional crossovers to musical theatre as ensemble in Adam Guettal’s The Light In The Piazza, Simon Zealot in Sir Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Jesus Christ Superstar, and Florence in Steve Martin and Edie Blackwell’s Bright Star. Concert engagements include Bach’s Magnificat, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Britten’s Ceremony of Carols, and Mozart’s Requiem and Laudate Dominum. 

 

A multi faceted artist, Taylor also enjoys a dual career in arts education and admin. She is the founder of Opera Cecilia LLC, which includes a thriving home voice studio, a monetized YouTube channel, and a fully functional opera company. She also serves guest instructional positions with SW Washington’s Opus School of Music and Vancouver’s Journey Theater Arts, with which she also made her music directorial debut. Taylor is also a principle cantor and resident director of music for St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Parish in Camas, WA. Taylor is a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota Duluth with an MM in vocal performance, where she was the proud recipient of a graduate teaching assistantship, and received her Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance from the University of Portland, where she was the recipient of UP’s Rodger Doyle Award for Vocalist of the Year. Upcoming engagements include concert appearances with the Columbia Gorge Orchestra Association in Hoodriver, OR, and the Vincerò Academy opera gala at Carnegie Hall. A versatile artist of many genres, Taylor’s debut acoustic album Exposé will premiere to popular streaming sites at the beginning of 2023. 

 

Taylor currently shares a home in southwest Washington with her wonderful husband and beloved fur babies. When she is not working, you can find her spending ample time with loved ones, trying out a new recipe, and exploring nature.