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The American soprano, Kyla Knox, she began her musical training at an early age, taking voice and piano lessons from the second grade and attending a high school for the performing arts (Marin School of the Arts). obtained her Bachelor of Music degree in Voice Performance on the West Coast at the University of California Santa Cruz (2009), studying with Brian Staufenbiel. Under the baton of Nicole Paiement, she performed a variety of leading roles, including Pamina in W.A. Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Magda in The Consul, and Susanna in in W.A. Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro. Sher received her Master’s degree from the University of Houston in May 2014, studying under the tutelage of Cynthia Clayton. Opera roles with the Moores School of Music include Cunegonde in Leonard Bernstein's Candide, (2014), Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia (2014), Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro (2013), Elena in Nino Rota's Il cappello di paglia di Firenze (2013), and Fanny in Rossini’s first opera Il Cambiale di Matrimonio (2012). She attended OperaWorks Advanced Artist program in 2011, and placed into the finals at the Henry and Maria Holt Scholarship competition in 2013. She had the pleasure of joining the Opera Academy of California as a young artist in 2012, singing the roles of Zerlina in W.A. Mozart's Don Giovanni, and Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi. In the summer of 2014, she covered the roles of Naiad and Zerbinetta in Ariadne of Naxos with Kingwood Summer Opera.
Kyla Knox has graced the stage with her lively interpretations of both opera and art song, considered “humble and charming” in her performance of Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro as well as her “flawless” and “perfectly delivered” singing in Il Cappello di Paglia di Firenze. The Houston Press labeled her in her most recent performance of Clorinda in La Centerontola (2016) as a “scene stealer deluxe.” In summer 2015, she joined Lone Star Lyric Opera as Rita in Donizetti’s Rita, a one-act comedy performed in English.
Most recently Kyla Knox began her foray into the early music world, joining the Bach Society Houston for the J.S. Bach's St. Matthew Passion (BWV 244) and joining forces with Ars Lyrica for George Frideric Handel's work Alexander's Feast in May 2015. She has been a featured soloist in several concerts with the former Houston Young Artist Collective, now called Houston Baroque, a group created by Doctor of Musical Arts candidate Patrick Parker in Organ Performance at University of Houston. During the debut season of 2014-2015, she performed several J.S. Bach and Dietrich Buxtehude cantatas, as well as works by Charpentier and G.F. Handel, J.S. Bach motets and arias. HYAC has been featured in the Houston Chronicle, performed at Houston Early Music Festival, and programmed ten concerts in its debut season. She will rejoin the group for its second season in a performance of G.F. Handel's Neun deutsche Arien in January 2015. In Houston she was also Soprano Section Leader/Soloist at at Holy Spirit Episcopal Church, Houston (2012-February 2016).
When she is not performing, Kyla Knox enjoys cooking, bartending, and teaching voice lessons to people of all ages and abilities. Her passion for wine led her to pass her Level 1 Sommelier exam with the Court of Master Sommeliers in January 2016. An avid fan of all things health and fitness, she has also enjoyed being a Zumba fitness instructor, participated in several tough mudders, and completed her first full marathon in San Francisco in July of 2015. She currently lives in Oakland, California, |
