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Sequina DuBose
Sequina DuBose is an Assistant Professor of Classical and Contemporary Voice in the Department of Music. Her research is centered on the impact of genre fusion and improvisation in 21st-century operas on vocal pedagogy and performance practice. Her interests span to include many contemporary styles including musical theater and African-American folk music.
Recently, she debuted as a soloist and ensemble member in Underground Railroad: A Spiritual Journey, a concert series which culminated in a performance at the Metropolitan Opera with Kathleen Battle. She made her debut in the 2015-16 season with Michigan Opera Theater as 4th Maidservant in Strauss’ Elektra and has performed with both the Lyric Opera of Chicago and Royal Danish Opera as Annie in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. Dr. DuBose also sang 40 consecutive performances as Clara in the 75th Anniversary National Tour of Porgy and Bess. As Clorinda in Rossini’s La Cenerentola with Opera Memphis, critics praised her portrayal of the wicked stepsister as one of “incessant vanity”, with both sisters praised for characterization “conceived as zany grotesques…as colorful as their voices” (Memphis Commercial Appeal). Additionally, Dr. DuBose has portrayed Musetta in Puccini’s La Bohème, reprised the role of Clorinda with DiCapo Opera, and portrayed Rachel in the world premiere of Nkeiru Okoye’s folk opera Harriet Tubman: When I Cross That Line to Freedom with American Opera Projects in New York City. Dr. DuBose has also performed with the Opera Company of Philadelphia and Utah Festival Opera Company. Other performed roles include Pamina in Mozart’s, The Magic Flute, Erisbe in Cavalli’s L’Ormindo, Lauretta in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, Nanetta in Verdi’s, Falstaff, and both Susanna and Countess in Mozart’s, The Marriage of Figaro.
A versatile actress and crossover artist, Dr. DuBose has performed as Cleopatra in an Off-Broadway production of Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, as Lady in Blue in ArtsCentric’s production of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow is Enuf, as Chloe in a New York Musical Theater Festival reading of 7:32, The Musical, and as Deena Jones in the hit musical Dreamgirls. She has toured as a soloist with The American Spiritual Ensemble and with Chorale Le Chateau alongside famed trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra performing his work, Abyssinian Mass. She was a finalist in the Kurt Weill Foundation Lotte Lenya Vocal Competition and placed third in the prestigious American Traditions Competition.
She has served as the Director of Development for ArtsCentric, an African-American-led theater company, since 2016. In this role, she has successfully coordinated with board and company members to write and submit grant proposals totaling over $75,000 in funding to date. She continues to serve as a board member and teaches as a Voice Instructor in the ArtsCentric Summer Institute, a three-week intensive for musical theater aspirants ages 13 – 22 years old.
Recent engagements include a world-premiere of the electronic chamber opera, Nightingale and the Tower (Jason Treuting, Rebecca Comerford, Beth Meyers), in which she created the role Philomena, and an upcoming performance of the newly commissioned work Elegy: In Memoriam of the Emmanuel Nine (Mark Lewis). Dr. DuBose continues her work as an arts advocate, educator and administrator while maintaining an active concert and performing arts career. She is a member of the American Guild of Musical Artists and Sigma Alpha Iota Fraternity for Women, Inc.
