Soprano Sarah Cullins is thrilled to be back in her native Vermont after an exciting 10-year career in Bogotà, Colombia, as one of the country’s most sought-after soloists and teachers.
After winning Colombia’s National Voice Competition in 2004, Sarah performed frequently with the Philharmonic Orchestras of Bogotá and Medellín as well as the National Symphony Orchestra in an extensive array of oratorio and concert repertoire in the country’s most important theaters and festivals. Highlights included: the inauguration of the Teatro de Bellas Artes de Bogotá with Mozart’s Coronation Mass, Beethoven’s Symphony #9 for the 30th anniversary of the Teatro Colsubsidio, Mozart’s Exsultate, jubilate in the Popayan Religious Music Festival and in the newly inaugurated Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santodomingo, the national premiere of Catalan composer Moises Beltrán’s Suite de Parlava, opera galas in the Festival Ópera al Parque, Gorecki’s Symphony #3 in the Colegio del Cuerpo production INXILIO, as well as the orchestral and chamber music versions of Mahler’s Fourth Symphony in the Medellín International Music Festival.
On the operatic stage in both Latin America and the U.S., Sarah Cullins’ repertoire has included Gilda in Rigoletto, Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Elvira in L’Italiana in Algeri , Musetta in La Bohème, Adèle in Die Fledermaus, Susana in Le Nozze di Figaro, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, as well as numerous leading roles in Gilbert & Sullivan productions.
Since her return to the U.S., Sarah has expanded her musical focus to include Latin American and Spanish song as a member of the 8 Cuerdas duo that she and her husband, Colombian guitarist Daniel Gaviria, formed to celebrate and promote this rich and diverse repertoire. She also continues to perform regularly in orchestral, oratorio and operatic productions, appearing frequently with the Opera Company of Middlebury, and with Albany Pro Musica, the Burlington Chamber Ensemble, the Vermont Philharmonic, the Vermont Contemporary Music Ensemble, the Burlington Choral Society, the Aurora Chamber Singers, Vermont Virtuosi, and the Mad River Chorale, among many others.
While in Colombia, Sarah founded and led the Universidad Central voice and opera program in Bogotà from 2006-2013, and her former students currently appear with important orchestras and opera companies in Colombia and the United States, have won all categories of Colombia’s National Voice Competition, and have been granted full scholarships to Master’s programs in the U.S. and Europe. In Vermont, she has been a member of the University of Vermont faculty and currently maintains an active private studio. She is also the Founder and Executive Director of the Youth Opera Company of Vermont, offering unique training and performance opportunities for Vermont’s up-and-coming vocal talent, and serves on the Board of Directors for the Opera Company of Middlebury.
A graduate of the New England Conservatory/Tufts University double-degree program, Sarah also attended the Mannes College of Music’s Professional Studies Program.
