Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Emma Leigh Webster is a versatile soprano based in Baltimore where she studies at the Peabody Conservatory. Known for her strong acting choices across styles and genres, her prominent roles have included Flavia in Silla with Chicago Summer Opera, La Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi with Oberlin in Italy, Suor Dolcina and Suor Osmina in Suor Angelica with Cincinnati Conservatory of Music’s Summer Opera Bootcamp, and Ann in Speed Dating Tonight! by Michael Ching with Lawrence University.   She has many years of ensemble experience in fully staged productions including La Rondine with Peabody Opera, Le comte Ory with Lawrence University, and Les mamelles de Tirésias at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music’s Summer Opera Bootcamp. In 2019, Ms. Webster made her Baltimore Symphony Orchestra debut under the baton of Marin Alsop in Hindemith’s Sancta Susanna. Her education has provided multiple opera scene productions where she studied Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus, Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier, Soeur Constance in Dialouges des Carmelites, Despina in Cosi fan tutte, Poppea in L’incoronazione di Poppea, and Third wood sprite in Rusalka. As recitalist, Ms. Webster has performed a range of works spanning across centuries and styles. She has appeared as a Soprano Soloist in the Bach Fantasia with the Lawrence University Concert Choir, performed for local residents in Arezzo, Italy, and was a semifinalist for the Wisconsin chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing in 2017 and 2018.  This spring, Ms. Webster will portray the role of Yadwiga in Enemies, A Love Story by Ben Moore and Luisa in The Fantasticks during the Spring Opera Scenes performance with Peabody Opera. Additionally,  in their main stage production, she will sing La Dame élégante in Les mamelles de Tirésias.   While being a student at the Merit School of Music and experiencing the impact that performers had on the greater community, Ms. Webster developed a deep love for vocal pedagogy. She has a minor in Vocal Pedagogy from Lawrence University and maintains an active voice studio while pursuing her performance career. She believes that music is a birthright, and each person is born with the innate ability to express themselves through their voice. It is a part of our human nature. Some find that their voice can be communicated through conversations, while others find it through singing. Her goal as a teacher is to assist each student in finding their “true voice” through in-depth study of the musical cannon. Through the pedagogical ideas of anatomy, physiology, and vocal acoustics, each student gains a deeper understanding of their personal instrument and the function of their voice. Ms. Webster received her Bachelor of Music, magna cum laude, from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, where she studied under the tutelage of Kenneth Bozeman. She is currently pursuing her Master of Music in Voice Performance and Vocal Pedagogy at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, under the tutelage of Ah Young Hong.