Mezzo-soprano Amelia DeCoster was born and raised in the St. Paul area of Minnesota. She was a devoted chorister and participated in musicals and competitions as a child. Throughout her schooling, her mentors of music included Robert Pontious, Julie Conzemius, Momoko Tanno, Teresa Tierney, Nancy Whipkey, and Dale Warland. She attended the University of MN-Morris where she earned a spot as a Soprano II in the top choir under the direction of Ken Hodgson. She was also selected for multiple solos during the choir’s international tour, as well as recordings of concerts.

Ms. DeCoster took a break from serious singing to pursue another field. She earned her first post-graduate degree from Savannah College of Art and Design in Historic Preservation, where she, not so coincidentally, wrote her thesis on the topic of American opera houses.

She has now been singing classically since late 2020, and lives in Southern California. Her very first audition was a successful one, where she secured a spot in the chorus of Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel, as well as the Sandmann & Taumann cover in Berlin Opera Academy’s summer program. 

In 2022, she sang roles in two world premieres for the Vienna Summer Music Festival program. There, she also sang Due Donne in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, and covered Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Both of these summer programs granted Ms. DeCoster generous scholarships.

From 2022 to 2023, Ms. DeCoster held the position of section leader in the Verdi Chorus of Santa Monica, California. She began as a Sahm Foundation Apprentice as a Soprano II, and was quickly hired as a Walter Fox Singer in the Alto I section. 

In 2023, Ms. DeCoster received the Mary Lou Gladhill Scholarship for the Wesley Balk Institute where she participated in Mozart’s The Magic Flute “Hm! Hm! Hm!” quintet as Second Lady. She also performed in a scene from the contemporary opera, Answered Prayers. 2023 also included a pastische of Mozart scenes where she performed as Dorabella from Così fan tutte for the Lyric Opera of Orange County’s summer program L’Opera Petite. 

In 2024, Ms. DeCoster was granted the role of Zweite Magd and Dienerinnen in Richard Strauss’ Elektra with the Dramatic Voices of Berlin in Berlin, Germany. The fully-staged production was conducted by Elda Laro of the Deutsche Oper. She was also selected as a cover artist for the role of Klytämnestra. The success of her role preparation culminated in the talented mezzo-soprano singing the entirety of Klytämnestra’s scene in concert under the baton of Sergio Castroreale. She also admirably sang both roles of Sorceress and Dido in CBU Opera Theater’s production of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas.

Ms. DeCoster’s most recent engagements have been part of her Masters of Music in Vocal Performance degree at California Baptist University, where she graduated in the spring with summa cum laude honors. 2025 included a fully-staged production of Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, where she sang the role of Zita with professional-level energy and comedy. She also beautifully sang the role of Dorabella from Mozart’s Così fan tutte in a scenes production. 2024-2025 included two recitals where she very successfully performed five song cycles, spanning multiple periods and languages (including Czech and Venetian dialect).

As an engaging performer of opera and song alike, Ms. DeCoster is on her way to becoming a beautiful professional vocal artist. With an expression of warmth and beauty, her voice has been described as “such a special sound with beautiful vibrato” by Classical Singer.