Lauren Woods is a soprano from Calgary, Alberta. Lauren has been a performer since she was a child, beginning with choir, piano, and competitive figure skating. She completed a vocal performance diploma at Mount Royal University, and went on to the University of British Columbia where she received a bachelor’s degree in Opera. Lauren now carries a Master's in Voice Performance from the Schulich School of Music at McGill University. She was recognized as a finalist in the Wirth Vocal Competition in Montreal, and was one of six singers to represent Canada in the international Belvedere competition in Amsterdam in 2015. 

 

        Lauren was thrilled to return home and join Calgary Opera as one of their Emerging artists for the 2016-2017 season. During the program, she played Laurette in Le Docteur Miracle, Fairy-Godmother and Clorinda in Cinderella, and covered Adele in Die Fledermaus. Previous roles include: Brenda in Empty the House (Ammolite Opera), Pierrot in a staged production of Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire,  the title role in Rodelinda, Amy in Mark Adamo's Little Women (Opera McGill), Adina in Love Potion No. 9 (Cowtown Opera), Rose in Jake Heggie's At the Statue of Venus, The Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte, Musetta in La Bohème, Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel, Meg in The Phantom of the Opera (Cowtown Opera), Gilda in Rigoletto, Sophie in Wether (Calgary Concert Opera), and Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro (Opera NUOVA). At UBC she played Countess Blavinskeya in the world premiere of The Dream Healer, Nanetta in Verdi’s Falstaff and Despina in Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte in the Czech republic, Ontario and Vancouver.

 

        Lauren has been fortunate to tour across canada with Cowtown Opera in Toronto and Charlottetown, as well as Mercury Opera, in Alberta and Ontario. She's worked with the edgy opera company on various projects including Fiamma (Magnetic North Festival in Ottawa) and 109 Underground in Edmonton (Omni tv documentary).

 

        Currently, Lauren is a featured soloist in Calgary with various Choirs including the Juno-nominated Luminous Voices, for which she also sings as a regular chorister. Most recently, she was thrilled to sing Mahler's 4th symphony with the Calgary Civic Symphony and Mozart's Requiem with the Firebird chorus and orchestra.  She can be seen performing everything from Opera, Folk, Jazz, Pop to Musical Theatre and beyond. Aside from performing, Lauren is a prominent voice/piano teacher and clinician in Alberta. She is extremely passionate about music and acting, and she believes that music broadens the mind, feeds the soul and enriches lives.