About Alex
Coloratura soprano and Philadelphia native Alexandra Gilliam‘s upcoming performance engagements include a reprise appearance as Gilda in Rigoletto with Orchestra Society of Philadelphia (October 9), as a member of the Philadelphia Symphonic Choir in the Philadelphia Orchestra’s highly anticipated presentation of Carmina Burana (October 22-25), as a soloist and co-producer of Opera Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (November 21), as Soprano Soloist in the Northeast Oratorio Society’s annual presentation of Handel’s Messiah (November 29), and as Despina in Così fan tutte with Lower Merion Symphony Orchestra (March 21, 2027), among others.
Recent performance engagements include her role debut as Casilda in Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Gondoliers with The Savoy Company; appearances with Lower Merion Symphony Orchestra in which she presented arias and scenes from Gounod’s Faust; and several performances with Orchestra Society of Philadelphia, including as Soprano Soloist in Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem and Suor Genovieffa in Suor Angelica. She also actively performs as a member of the Philadelphia Symphonic Choir in numerous presentations at the Kimmel Center and at Carnegie Hall.
Gilliam is also a passionate recitalist and has produced several solo recital presentations, including “A Toast to International Light Opera” at Roundtable Productions, in which she appeared with collaborative pianist Aurelien Eulert. She regularly collaborates with Clipper Erickson, pianist, with whom she recently co-produced Love Went A-Riding: A Valentine’s Day Recital, presented by Music for the Soul as a celebration of Black and female composers.
Equally at home on the concert and oratorio stage, Gilliam has been featured numerous times as soprano soloist with The Northeast Oratorio Society in their presentations of several Bach cantatas, including BWV 52: Falsche Welt, dir trau ich nicht; and BWV 210: O holder Tag, erwünschte Zeit.
A champion of new music, Gilliam places high priority on her work with living composers and has participated in numerous world premieres, recordings, and workshops. In addition to premiering Reese Revak’s e.e. cummings song cycle in January of 2023, she debuted the role of Angel in Les Thaler’s opera, The Devil Loves a Comedy in 2017. Gilliam also was featured as The Lark in Festival Opera’s 2016 presentation of Wang Jie’s Rated R for Rat. Furthermore, Gilliam’s collaboration with composer Dana Kaufman and renowned educator and composer John Heiss resulted in an acclaimed premiere of Kaufman’s piece, “On the Move (I rörelse);” the piece and recording thereof were the winner of the 2015 Women Composers Festival New England Score Call.
In addition to her solo performance work, Gilliam is deeply passionate about choral work. She made her Sydney Opera House debut in the summer of 2015 as a featured soloist at the Australian International Music Festival with acclaimed Boston-based festival choir, Northern Voices, conducted by Erica J. Washburn. She has also been a featured soloist at the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts at the Kimmel Cultural Campus.
Gilliam has participated in several prestigious festivals, including the Taos Opera Institute and the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS) in Graz, Austria. She was the recipient of the Barry Manilow Scholarship and Phyllis C. Wattis Memorial Scholarship at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, from which she received her Master of Music degree in 2017 under the tutelage of acclaimed mezzo-soprano Catherine Cook. Gilliam received her Bachelor of Music degree in 2015 from the New England Conservatory of Music, graduating with honors from the studio of tenor Bradley Williams. There, she was a Merit Scholarship recipient and was inducted into the Iota chapter of Pi Kappa Lambda honors society in recognition of her academic standing at the institution.
About Alex
Coloratura soprano and Philadelphia native Alexandra Gilliam‘s upcoming performance engagements include a reprise appearance as Gilda in Rigoletto with Orchestra Society of Philadelphia (October 9), as a member of the Philadelphia Symphonic Choir in the Philadelphia Orchestra’s highly anticipated presentation of Carmina Burana (October 22-25), as a soloist and co-producer of Opera Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (November 21), as Soprano Soloist in the Northeast Oratorio Society’s annual presentation of Handel’s Messiah (November 29), and as Despina in Così fan tutte with Lower Merion Symphony Orchestra (March 21, 2027), among others.
Recent performance engagements include her role debut as Casilda in Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Gondoliers with The Savoy Company; appearances with Lower Merion Symphony Orchestra in which she presented arias and scenes from Gounod’s Faust; and several performances with Orchestra Society of Philadelphia, including as Soprano Soloist in Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem and Suor Genovieffa in Suor Angelica. She also actively performs as a member of the Philadelphia Symphonic Choir in numerous presentations at the Kimmel Center and at Carnegie Hall.
Gilliam is also a passionate recitalist and has produced several solo recital collaborations, including “A Toast to International Light Opera” with Roundtable Productions, in which she appeared with collaborative pianist Aurelien Eulert.
Equally at home on the concert and oratorio stage, Gilliam has been featured numerous times as soprano soloist with The Northeast Oratorio Society in their presentations of several Bach cantatas, including BWV 52: Falsche Welt, dir trau ich nicht; and BWV 210: O holder Tag, erwünschte Zeit.
A champion of new music, Gilliam places high priority on her work with living composers and has participated in numerous world premieres, recordings, and workshops. In addition to premiering Reese Revak’s e.e. cummings song cycle in January of 2023, she debuted the role of Angel in Les Thaler’s opera, The Devil Loves a Comedy in 2017. Gilliam also was featured as The Lark in Festival Opera’s 2016 presentation of Wang Jie’s Rated R for Rat. Furthermore, Gilliam’s collaboration with composer Dana Kaufman and renowned educator and composer John Heiss resulted in an acclaimed premiere of Kaufman’s piece, “On the Move (I rörelse);” the piece and recording thereof were the winner of the 2015 Women Composers Festival New England Score Call.
In addition to her solo performance work, Gilliam is deeply passionate about choral work. She made her Sydney Opera House debut in the summer of 2015 as a featured soloist at the Australian International Music Festival with acclaimed Boston-based festival choir, Northern Voices, conducted by Erica J. Washburn. She has also been a featured soloist at the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts at the Kimmel Cultural Campus.
Gilliam has participated in several prestigious festivals, including the Taos Opera Institute and the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS) in Graz, Austria. She was the recipient of the Barry Manilow Scholarship and Phyllis C. Wattis Memorial Scholarship at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, from which she received her Master of Music degree in 2017 under the tutelage of acclaimed mezzo-soprano Catherine Cook. Gilliam received her Bachelor of Music degree in 2015 from the New England Conservatory of Music, graduating with honors from the studio of tenor Bradley Williams. There, she was a Merit Scholarship recipient and was inducted into the Iota chapter of Pi Kappa Lambda honors society in recognition of her academic standing at the institution.