Emma Faraone is a Mezzo-soprano from Catonsville, Maryland, otherwise known as Music City, Maryland. She has always loved to perform, from Twinkle Twinkle Little Star at show and tell in preschool to performing as Maria in The Sound of Music at the end of her high school career. She now attends Shenandoah University as a second year Vocal Performance student under the direction of Dr. Fotina Naumenko. She is a Mezzo Soprano, and sings in Shenandoah University’s Conservatory Choir, which is the university’s select choir. She has also been in many operas thus far, including Moscow, Cheryomushki, composed by Dmitri Shostakovich, Fallstaff, composed by Giuseppe Verdi, and Acis and Galatea composed by G.F. Handel. Handel’s opera went on tour to Porto, Portugal and Salamanca, Spain in October of 2024. These were all directed by Ella Marchment. Emma has also competed in the Virginia Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (VANATS), and received high scores in the classical category in February of 2025. Emma has also performed in choral festivals during her junior and senior years of high school in an all girls’ choir directed by Jessica Thomas at Mercy High School, in Baltimore, Maryland. In addition to her opera experience, Emma has performed extensively in musical theater. Her roles include Amy in Little Women, Cinderella in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, The Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods, and Maria in The Sound of Music. With a passion for both opera and musical theater, Emma continues to refine her artistry as she pursues her Vocal Performance degree at Shenandoah University.