Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, Julia Holoman is a recent graduate of The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University under professor Nova Thomas. Julia is thrilled to be stepping directly into a Young Artist Program following her studies and will be engaged in operatic and concert work at the Utah Opera as the mezzo-soprano Resident Artist for the 2025-2026 season. Julia will perform the roles of Mrs. Massey in David Moravec’s The Shining and Flora in Verdi’s La Traviata. She has been named the alto soloist for Utah Symphony’s annual Messiah Sing-Along concert and will be engaged in orchestral opera scenes through Utah Opera in the spring season.

This past summer, Julia was in Santa Barbara, California attending the Music Academy of the West as a Lehrer Vocal Institute Artist and joined the Academy Festival Orchestra as the Alto soloist in Mahler Symphony No. 3 under the baton of Miguel Harth-Bedoya. She also performed numerous opera scenes and collaborated with string and piano fellows to perform Ernest Chausson’s Chanson Perpétuelle as part of the festival’s Salon Concert Series.

Last season, Julia was named a Semi-Finalist for the Houston Grand Opera's Concert of Arias as well as a Finalist for the National Opera Association's Argento Vocal Competition. In the fall, she performed the role of the Ruggiero in Rice's fall opera production of Handel's Alcina under the theatrical direction of Crystal Manich and the baton of Louis Lohraseb. She also worked with Patricia Racette in Rice’s spring opera production of The Ghosts of Versailles, portraying the gossips of King Louis’s court.

During the 2024-2025 season, Julia was a fellow at the Ravinia Steans Music Institiute where she was engaged in recital work, including a curated recital "Mentor in Torment," by Graham Johnson. Julia also portrayed The Sorceress in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas in Rice’s spring opera production, while also performing the role of Dido in concert.

Recent contemporary projects include collaborations with composer Daniel Knaggs on a thirty minute song cycle premiere entitled Time Against our Bodies, performed in April of 2024 and collaborations with Rice Faculty member Dr. Karim Al-Zand for the performance of 3 new songs in January of 2024.

Julia attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for her Bachelor of Music degree and graduated with highest distinction as a Kenan Music Scholar under the tutelage of Dr. Jeanne Fischer. Julia's past roles include Hansel in Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel, Nerone in L'incoronazione di Poppea, L'enfant in Ravel's L'enfant et les sortilèges, as well as numerous scenes as Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro and Dorabella in Così fan tutte.