Jacquelyn Matava, D.M.

Winner of The American Prize (2021) for women in opera, mezzo-soprano Jacquelyn Matava has been praised for her “warm sound” and “soothing legato line.” Operatic credits include the title roles in Cendrillon and Dido and Aeneas, Charlotte (Werther), Zita (Gianni Schicchi), Zweite Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Tisbe (La Cenerentola), and Nancy (Albert Herring). She won 3rd prize in the 2020 National Opera Association Carolyn Bailey and Dominick Argento Vocal Competition and was a Regional Finalist in the 2013 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. 

An accomplished concert artist, Matava has been heard as a soloist in performances of Bach’s Mass in B minor, Duruflé’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor, and Stravinsky’s Les Noces. In 2014, she performed at the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle. She has sung with Tanglewood Music Center, Lucerne Festival Academy, Opera Saratoga, Festival Napa Valley, Crested Butte Music Festival, Opera San Antonio, Alamo City Opera, Victoria Bach Festival, and Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. 

Matava joined the Trinity faculty as Assistant Professor of Music in 2017, and teaches applied voice, opera workshop, and aural skills. Previously, she served as Instructor of Voice and Opera at St. Mary’s University from 2014-2017. Matava is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, National Opera Association, and Texas Music Educators Association, and has been a sought-after adjudicator for contests and competitions in Texas, New Mexico, and Nebraska.

A native of Farmington, Connecticut, Matava holds a D.M. and M.M. from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and B.A. from Vassar College. She resides in San Antonio with her husband, Dr. Brett Richardson, who is the Director of Bands and Coordinator of Music Education at the University of the Incarnate Word.