Bio

Described as having a “vivid soprano” (VOICE Magazine), Naomi Merer most recently performed as the soprano soloist in Mozart’s Requiem under the baton of Eugene Rogers (Santa Barbara Choral Society). Her operatic repertoire include Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni (University of California, Santa Barbara, or UCSB), Dater #12 and #12B in SPEED DATING TONIGHT! by Michael Ching (Opera Santa Barbara), Sarah Good in The Crucible (Opera Santa Barbara), Miss Phoebe in the North American premiere of Lehar’s operetta, The Mock Marriage (UCSB), Zerlina in Don Giovanni at the Estates Theatre in Prague, where the opera premiered (Prague Summer Nights Young Artists Music Festival), Zweite Dame in Die Zauberflöte (Prague Summer Nights), Youth in Thomas Cipullo’s After Life (UCSB & National Opera Association), Célie in Signor Deluso (UCSB), and Papagena in Die Zauberflöte (Amalfi Coast Music and Arts Festival). Known for her acting as well as her singing, Naomi was described as having “brought a masterful sense of comedic verisimilitude…and championed a voice that grew in warmth and consonance” to her role debut as Susanna in UCSB’s production of Le nozze di Figaro, (BravoCalifornia!). In 2020, she sang as a featured singer with the Santa Barbara Symphony in their concert of the Carnegie Hall Link-Up program. Naomi has also performed several chorus roles with Opera Santa Barbara, including Lolette in La rondine, a Hen in The Cunning Little Vixen, and Suor Osmina in Suor Angelica. She also sang the title role of Manon, Giulietta in Les contes d’Hoffmann, Mercédès in Carmen, and Alto Chorus in The Diary of One Who Disappeared by Janáček in Opera Santa Barbara’s outreach concerts.

Naomi’s accolades include winning second place in the Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation competition (2021, 2018) and singing on a master class with Renée Fleming in the Lobero Theatre (2016).  A versatile artist, Naomi also starred in Northwestern University’s musical theatre productions, portraying Lucy and the Street Singer in The Threepenny Opera and Linda in The Wedding Singer. She is also an avid recitalist and lover of art song and has curated such performances as Songs of the Silenced, a recital featuring German, Czech, and American women composers (All Saints by the Sea Episcopal Church), Farewell to the World: a recital on Mary, Queen of Scots (Lompoc Music Association) and her culminating doctoral lecture recital, Get thee to an asylum: a recital on Ophélie’s mad scene. Additionally, she has collaborated with local Santa Barbara pianists for projects such as The Dichterliebe Project (@liedernerd on Instagram) and performed three songs by Ilse Weber, “Lorelei” by Clara Schumann, and “Auf Flügeln des Gesanges” by Felix Mendelssohn on the podcast Follow the Lieder. She has sung with several ensembles in the Santa Barbara area, including as the soprano soloist in Rossini’s La carità and Léo Délibes’s Messe brève with the UCSB Lumina Chorus as well as Esta noche and A Christmas Garland with the Santa Barbara Choral Society and Orchestra.

Naomi graduated with her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in voice performance from UCSB, where she had a full tuition scholarship with a graduate teaching assistantship stipend. At UCSB, she was a teaching assistant for Music Appreciation (2019-2021), taught individual voice lessons (2016-2019), and voice class (2015-2016); Naomi’s work as a teaching assistant in the voice department also included giving master classes and coaching diction with students outside of her studio, including with the UCSB Lumina. She studied with Dr. Linda Di Fiore. Naomi received her Master of Music from UCSB in 2019 and her Bachelor of Music in vocal performance and opera with a minor in music theory from Northwestern University in 2015, magna cum laude and with vocal honors.