Praised by The Herold Times for her “strength and great vocal flexibility,” award winning Mezzo-soprano Grace Skinner has received 1st place in competitions including Seattle Opera Guild Competition, Indianapolis Musicale Matinee Competition, and National Society of Arts and Letters Vocal Competition. She will be making three role debuts this season including Rosina in Barber of Seville with Opera Bend, Dinah in Trouble in Tahiti with Cascadia Chamber Opera, and Prince Charmant in Cendrillon with Vashon Opera. 

         A PNW native, Ms. Skinner enjoys singing with many opera companies on the west coast. In recent years, she has sung Stephano in Romeo and Juliette Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro, and The Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos with Vashon Opera, and Gianetta in Elixir of Love with Cascadia Chamber Opera.

         Ms. Skinner was the resident mezzo-soprano at Opera Naples in the 2022/2023 season singing Stephano in Romeo et Juliette, Mercedes in Carmen, Little Buttercup in HMS Pinafore, and Woman #2 in Frida. In 2022 she join Utah Festival Opera singing chorus in The Magic Flute, The Tender land, and Carmen in addition to covering the title role of Carmen. In 2020/2021 she was selected as a vocal fellow at the Music Academy of the West and participated in the prestigious Marilyn Horne Song Competition. In 2019 she joined the Aspen Music Festival singing Mrs. Segstrom and covering Desiree Armfeldt under the baton of the legendary Andy Einhorn.

        She earned her MM from the Jacobs School of Music at IU where she sang Jo in Little Women, Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro, and the title role of Giulio Cesare. She was also an Associate Instructor of Voice at IU. Ms. Skinner received her BM in voice at Portland State University where she sang the roles of Prince Orlofsky in Der Fledermaus, La Principessa in Suor Angelica and premiered the role of Samantha in Mark Lanz Weiser’s opera The Place Where You Started. In addition to her career as a performer, Ms. Skinner teaches voice out of her studio in Vancouver, WA. She currently studies with celebrated soprano and vocal pedagogue Jane Dutton.