California native Ruston Ropac is an explorer of dynamic, eclectic vocal landscapes. An alumna of the Manhattan School of Music’s Contemporary Music Program, she also brings her artistry to early music, opera, and choral ensembles.
A rising interpreter of new music, Ms. Ropac has sung the world premieres of over thirty-five works for chamber orchestra and chamber ensemble. She has performed as a soloist with the Albany Symphony and its contemporary Sinfonietta, Dogs of Desire, and frequently returns to National Sawdust to perform premieres of new chamber music at its annual Blueprint Fellowship Concerts. In 2022, she created the role of Princess Bendova in the world premiere of Jed Bolipata’s operatic musical comedy The Wages of Sin. Her discography includes the BlackBox Ensemble’s debut recording Elegy, and chorus work on Poul Ruders’s opera The Thirteenth Child for Bridge Records.
In 2021, Ms. Ropac was an inaugural participant in TENET Vocal Artists’ Mentorship Program for emerging singers of early music. She frequently performs as a vocalist with Long Island’s premiere early music ensemble, Four and Twenty Strings, and as a duo with lutenist Peter Argondizza. She has performed as a soloist in Handel’s Messiah with St. John’s Lutheran Church in Stamford, Connecticut, and in Bach’s Magnificat, Mass in G Major, and several cantatas by both Bach and Telemann with the Bach Collegium of Saint Peter’s Church in New York City. With the Collegium, she also performed the oratorio roles of Climène in Charpentier’s Pastorale de Noël and Piacere in Cavalieri’s Rappresentatione di anima, et di corpo.
An accomplished choral musician, Ms. Ropac is a member of the New York Philharmonic Chorus. She currently serves as a staff singer at the Church of the Holy Apostles in New York City, as well as Melodia Women’s Choir. She was previously a staff singer at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Stamford, Saint Peter’s Church in NYC, and with Ember Choral Ensemble. Her choral career has seen on her on stages such as Carnegie Hall and Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and in a performance for His Holiness the Karmapa during his visit to Redlands, California.
As a composer-performer, Ms. Ropac specializes in vocal chamber music that experiments with theatrical elements and seeks to challenge the performer vocally and dramatically. She has written two micro-operas, along with works for string quartet, small chamber ensembles, short film, and art installations. She is currently writing a crimson c(h)ord, a one-woman opera for soprano and electronics with a libretto by the composer.
Ms. Ropac holds a Master of Music degree in Contemporary Vocal Performance from the Manhattan School of Music, where she studied with soprano Lucy Shelton, and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Redlands in Southern California, where she studied voice with Dr. Melissa Tosh and composition with Dr. Anthony Suter and André Myers. She currently lives in Manhattan and enjoys writing poetry and playing tabletop games in her spare time.
Photographer: Ashley Chui