Meet the Cast: mezzo-soprano, Cathleen Gingrich

I met Cathleen Gingrich during my UBC days. Not only was she a fabulous singer, but she was a hardworking academic to boot! I’m certainly not surprised at the amazing and multifaceted artist she has become in the years since. She is currently active as a performer, administrator, and a brilliant force of positive energy. Who better than her to sing the mezzo role in Diagnosis: Diabetes.

Throughout the opera, she joins the Question Time Chorus to help get the audience involved, and she also sings the roles of nurse and Charlie’s boss.

Read more about Cathleen below!

Described as a mezzo with a ‘memorable stage presence’ (Norman Armour, PuSH festival), Cathleen has been singing with abandon since age 4. Originally hailing from Ontario, she completed a Masters of Opera from the University of British Columbia in 2011. Recently, she created the role of Nurse/Third Lady in Vancouver City Opera’s May 2014 premiere of Pauline composed by Tobin Stokes and libretto by Margaret Atwood. This production will be reprised in October 2015 in Quebec City as part of the Québec en toutes lettres, Festival Littéraire.

Stage credits include Flosshilde in Das Rheingold, Ježibaba in Rusalka, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Marcellina in La nozze di Figaro and Second Lady in Die Zauberflöte.  Cathleen has performed with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the UBC Opera Ensemble and the Northern Bohemia Orchestra (Czech Republic).

Cathleen was the recipient of a prestigious 2011 Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grant for a lecture/recital entitled: Finding new repertoire in the digital age. She performs in recital regularly and loves to work with Canadian composers as often as she can.

Cathleen is also a sought after Arts Administrator.  She has worked in various arts organizations in Vancouver including the Arts Club Theatre Company, UBC Opera Department and as the Administrator at the Canadian Music Centre BC Region.  She now works as the Artistic Coordinator for Turning Point Ensemble and as the Secretary to the Canadian Federation of Music Teachers Associations.