Mezzo-Soprano Katherine Ciesinski has sung leading roles at the Metropolitan, Covent Garden, Paris, San Francisco, Santa Fe and Houston Grand Operas. A soloist with the Berlin, Vienna, London, Staatskapelle Dresden, Philadelphia, Chicago and Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestras, among many others, she has served as artist-in-residence at major festivals in the United States, France, Taiwan, Austria, Finland and Italy. She is the Director of Close Encounters vocal chamber institute at the Texas Music Festival and is a regular clinician at the International Symposium on the Care of the Professional Voice. She was a Grammy Nominee in 1992 and has recordings on the Decca, Erato, BMG, Music Masters, RCA, Columbia, Nonesuch and CRI labels. Her television appearances have included four PBS Great Performances programs, as well as numerous National Public Radio World of Opera broadcasts. Ms. Ciesinski is Professor of Voice at the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston.