Cierra Byrd

Cierra Byrd, mezzo soprano, is a native of Akron, Ohio and a proud alum of The Ohio State University. Ms. Byrd has performed as a featured soloist nationally and abroad with recognized ensembles and organizations including The Capriccio Jubilee Singers, Opera Columbus, and The Stacey V. Gibbs Chorale. She is the first winner of the Wilson Vocal Award, a recurrent NATS finalist, a recipient of Peabody’s Artist Excellence Award, an awarded finalist in Peabody's Vocal Studies Song Competition, a finalist in NYC's Opera Ebony Competition, and a semi-finalist of The British Art Song Society Competition in London. She has also had the honor of singing in masterclasses with renowned tenor, George Shirley and Austrian soprano, Gabriele Lechner.

Ms. Byrd recently received a Masters Degree in Voice Performance from The Peabody Conservatory under the tutelage of Margaret Baroody and Denyce Graves.

Recent and future roles include the role of La Zia Principessa (The Princess Aunt) in Puccini’s Suor Angelica (Il Trittico) and Lady Catherine DeBourgh in the staged premiere of Kirke Mechem’s Pride and Prejudice with Peabody Opera Theatre, The Witch in an innovative production of Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel with Opera Saratoga and Manual Cinema, and The Governess (Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades) with Des Moines Metro Opera.