Heather Jones

is a mezzo and crossover artist performing classical and contemporary repertoire with “mischievous freshness and enthusiasm.” A 2021 finalist in the American Traditions Vocal Competition and winner of the Sherrill Milnes American Opera Award, Heather is gaining recognition for their astute interpretations of new and early music. Season highlights include Hannah After in Laura Kaminsky’s As One, Dido in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Nerone in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea, solos in the Bach Christmas Oratorio, and a residency with the LA-based experimental ensemble Wild Up to develop and present Expostulation(s) of Mary, a chamber opera for voice, electronics, strings, and dancer about the biblical traditions of gender, sexuality, and bodily autonomy.

In 2023-2024, Heather appears with Kentucky Opera, Intermountain Opera Bozeman, Apollo’s Fire, the New York Philharmonic, Savannah Voice Festival, Voices of Ascension, and Trinity Wall Street. 

 

The 2021-2022 season included: As One (Hannah after) with Opera Maine and members of Palaver Strings, La traviata (Flora) with Holy City Lyric Opera, Candide (Paquette) with Opera Company of Middlebury, and Second Nature (Lydia) with Opera Fayetteville as well as solos in Bach’s St. John Passion and Verdi’s Requiem and appearances with Spoleto Festival USA, the Savannah Voice Festival, Voices of Ascension, Musica Sacra, and ChamberQUEER.

 
 

Originally from Charleston, South Carolina, Heather grew up surrounded by jazz, bluegrass, gospel, musical theatre, Anglican music, and contra dancing every other Friday. As the only child of two performers, Heather spent their early years watching their parents’ rehearsals and eventually made their way to the stage by singing in choirs and musicals. After a bachelor’s degree in music education from Westminster Choir College and several years of teaching, Heather found their way to opera and earned a master’s degree in vocal performance at Mannes School of Music. They currently live and make music in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

Heather has co-produced two iterations of the multi-disciplinary, durational work Vexations in Time, based on Satie’s experimental piano solo of the same name, as well as two short films: Abraham and Isaac, featuring abstract artist Meredith Walker live painting Britten’s duet for mezzo and tenor and Weill’s Lost in the Stars, shot remotely during quarantine at Juilliard and featuring dancer-choreographer Lindsay Phillips. Perpetually drawn to the inherent queerness and gender expansiveness of the arts, Heather has spoken on LGBTQ+ panels with the American Opera Project, Wild Up, Opera Maine, and Savannah Voice Festival, and is currently workshopping a recital titled Still Running which chronicles the trans experience of escapism and search for belonging within a family, a community, and one’s own body. 

 
 
 

Heather’s dream roles include Bernstein’s Peter Pan, Bellini’s Roméo, and music by Ravel, Weill, Ahrens and Flaherty, and Caroline Shaw. Offstage, Heather is usually riding their custom-built 1988 Bridgestone bike, visiting vintage clothing stores, sewing, or spending time with their cat, Blue Barry.