Praised for her sensitivity and style, mezzo-soprano Ingrid Johnson captivates from soaring high notes, to intimate, emotional portrayals that feel unapologetically authentic. As a performer, scholar, and discoverer, Ingrid is always seeking new adventures in music. She strides confidently and intuitively into the worlds of opera, choral music, and education outreach programs and is enthusiastic about making the arts available and accessible to everyone. From Bach, to Beech, to behind the scenes, she is a deeply passionate, hard-worker, with the drive and skills to thrive in the music world.
Born and raised in Colorado, Ingrid is a recent graduate of McGill University where she attained a Master’s degree in Music with a focus on Early Music Performance. She is an alumnus of Colorado State University where she graduated in 2017 Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of the Arts degree in Music and a minor in Fashion Merchandising. Her upcoming engagements include work with the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus, Aspen Music Festival with the Seraphic Fire Professional Chorus Institute, continued work with world premier recording projects, and a summer scholarship position with Quintessense in Albuquerque. Recently, she joined the VOCES8 US Scholars Program for their 2022-23 season which included the world premiere performance of Christopher Tin’s Grammy nominated work “The Lost Birds”), was a Fellow in Emmanuel Music Inc’s Bach Institute, travelled to Germany to join the chorus of the JSB Ensemble with the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart, and made her debut with Opera Colorado as a chorus member in Turandot. She was also a finalist in the Colorado Bach Ensemble’s 2023 Competition for Young Artists.
During her time at McGill, Ingrid portrayed Miss Todd in Menotti’s The Old Maid and the Thief and Rosmira in Handel’s Partenope. Ingrid joined the Montreal Bach Festival for their performance of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and in 2020, won 1st prize in the University: Voice category in the Boulder Bach Festival’s “World Bach Competition”, and would have covered the role of Damon in Opera McGill’s 2020 production of Acis and Galatea. In Montreal, Ingrid sang with the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul and has performed with McGill’s Cappella Antica, the Orchestre Philharmonique et Choeur des Mélomanes for their performance of Handel’s Messiah, sang as the mezzo soloist in Dvořak’s Mass in D with McGill University and Vanier College choirs, and joined the Colorado Music Festival chorus for Mahler’s Symphony no. 3.
Ingrid’s experience and skill singing in concert settings has landed her in many groups as both a soloist and ensemble member. In April 2022, she joined Seicento Baroque Ensemble as the mezzo soloist for the Bach, Charpentier, and Buxtehude Magnificats. She has sung with the Colorado Bach Ensemble for many seasons, sings with St. Martin’s Chamber Choir, was a professional chorister at St. John XIII in Fort Collins until the summer of 2019, and in December 2018, Ingrid was the mezzo soloist for the Plymouth United Church of Christ’s concert of SaintSaëns Oratorie de Noël.
While her roots are in choral singing, Ingrid is no stranger to opera. Her commitment to character, informed acting choices, and propensity to think outside the box, makes her a sought-after performer. In 2018, Ingrid performed the role of Orfeo in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice, and in 2017 she portrayed Arsamene in Handel’s Serse as a guest alumnus performer at CSU while preparing to cover Jo in Mark Adamo’s Little Women at the University of Northern Colorado. Other operatic roles include Cherubino in Boulder Symphony’s production of Le Nozze di Figaro, Desiree in Sondheim’s A Little Night Music, Mrs. Page’s cover in Nicolai’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, Prince Orlovsky in Strauss’s Die Fledermaus, Cherubino in CSU’s production of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Hänsel in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel, Idamante in Mozart’s Idomeneo, La Primera Cercatrice in Puccini’s Suor Angelica, and the Sixth Spirit in Massenet’s Cendrillon. Additionally, in 2016, Ingrid won 1st place in CSU’s Singer of the Year competition and joined Steamboat Opera’s Young Artist Program as the Sorceress in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, cover of Agnes the Digger in Tobias Picker’s Fantastic Mr. Fox, and chorus in Daniel Catan’s Florencia en el Amazonas.