Canadian soprano Whitney Leigh Sloan has been praised for her clear, lyrical voice and ability to take full advantage of both the light and shade in a score (Opera Canada). She is an avid performer with a passion for communicating the narratives of the operatic and concert genres as well as the musical intimacy of art song and small ensembles. In the coming season Whitney looks forward to engagements with Edmonton Opera, covering the role Violetta Valery in their production of La Traviata and performing the role of Alice in Rossini’s Le comte Ory. Whitney will be featured multiple times in the 2018/19 season with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra in works by Jean Sibelius (arranged by Canadian composer John Estacio), Erich Korngold (Die Tote Stadt) and Vaughan-Williams (Symphony No. 3). Additionally, she will perform as a feature soloist with the Edmonton Recital Society alongside pianist Sarah Ho and clarinetist Robert Spady. Last season, Whitney made her lead role debut as Zerlina in Edmonton Opera’s production of Don Giovanni. Engagments with orchestra included the performance of Dvořak’s Song to the Moon with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the world premiere of Tom Pinches Ride, written by Edmonton composer Michael Massey as well as performances of Mahler’s second and fourth symphonies with the Calgary Youth and Borealis orchestras. Past engagements include the performance of Second Maid in Edmonton Opera’s production of Elektra, appearances with the Edmonton Youth Orchestra, the WindRose Trio, and the portrayal of Elle in Poulenc’s La voix humaine with L'UniTheatre under the direction of Brian Dooley. She has appeared in numerous feature engagements with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Maestro’s William Eddins, Robert Bernhardt and Adam Johnson and has performed the title role in Dvořak’s Rusalka with Opera NUOVA. Ms. Sloan completed both her Undergraduate and Master’s degrees in Opera Performance at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Roles performed in attendance included Mimí in La Bohème, Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro, Tatiana in Eugene Onegin, Second Lady in Die Zauberflöte as well as cover studies of Musetta in La Bohème and First Lady in Die Zauberflöte. Additionally, Ms. Sloan performed the roles of Tatiana in Eugene Onegin and Arsamene in Serse as a part of the collaboration between UBC and the Meteske Divadlo in Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic. Ms. Sloan received additional training as a participant of the Calgary Opera Young Artist Development Program. Passionate about song repertoire, Whitney has twice attended the Franz Schubert Institute in Austria, where she worked to hone her skills with Elly Ameling, Helmut Deutsch, Julius Drake, Robert Holl, Rudolf Jansen, Andreas Schmidt, Roger Vignoles, and Wolfram Rieger. She is particularly passionate about the Russian song repertoire and has collaborated in a number of solo and feature recitals throughout Alberta. Generous support of her endeavours to date has been received from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Edmonton Community Foundation, the Winspear Scholarship for Advanced Classical Musicians and most recently from the Edmonton Arts Council. Additionally, she has been generously supported by Mr. Bruce Sansom as well as Mr. and Ms. Rapati.