Internationally acclaimed light lyric soprano, Arisa Kusumi Sullivan, has been praised for
her "beauty, charming voice, and vivacious spirit" (The Free Times) and her ability to "touch
the soul of the public…"(Chemnitzer Blick). A respected interpreter in the concert and
chamber music repertoire, she has appeared at venues around the world including the
Marlboro Music Festival Concert Series, the Atlanta Pro-Mozart Society, the Austrian
Embassy in Washington D.C., the Austrian Cultural Forum of NYC, Chamber Music Quad
Cities, the Nantucket Arts Council, the Robert Schumann Philharmonic of Germany, the
University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill Concert Series, the Verbier Festival in Switzerland
(competition winner’s concert), and numerous times at the Bach Festival Society of Winter
Park.

Over the span of her career, Ms. Kusumi Sullivan has amassed a wide range of experience
on the opera stage, having sung in over three hundred opera performances around the
world, including in Europe, the US, and Mexico. She made her opera debut in a joint
production at the Vadstena Akademien Opera (Sweden) and the Kammeroper Schloss
Rheinsberg (Germany) Festivals. As a result of her European debut success, she was invited
to numerous other opera houses including the Chemnitz Opera, Halle Opera and Osnabrück
Opera of Germany, the San Francisco Opera Center as a Resident Artist, and the South
Carolina Opera, and the Orlando Philharmonic. Her many roles include: Pamina, Susanna,
Papagena, Anna (Die Lustigen Weiber, Norina, Gretel, Esmerelda (Die Verkaufte Braut),
Waldvogel and the Shepherd in Tannhäuser. She has also been featured on radio and
television broadcasts with Mitteldeutsche Rundfunk (MDR) and Inspiration Network (US),
among others.

Her prizes include the Verbier Festival’s Prix de L’APCAV, the International Robert
Schumann Lied Competition in Zwickau, Germany, as well as being a finalist in the Joy in
Singing Competition of New York. She received her Bachelor of Music degree magna cum
laude from the Eastman School of Music under the tutelage of Carol Webber and has also
studied with Benita Valente and Marni Nixon. Further education includes studies at Ravinia
Festival Steans Institute, the Münchener Singschul of the Bavarian State Opera, and Tito
Capobianco’s Portland Opera Performing Institute. In the summer of 2018, she directed the
world premiere of the opera “The Bridesmaids” by Scott Bradley Joiner at the Vienna
Summer Music Festival’s Opera Institute, where she remains on the faculty. Ms. Kusumi
Sullivan was an Adjunct Professor of Voice at Rollins College from 2012-2018 and has
taught masterclasses and adjudicated juries at UNC-Chapel Hill, University of South
Florida, Stetson University, and University of Central Florida. In 2018, she founded and
served as the Executive and Artistic Director for the Howey Mansion Music Series, a 501(c)
(3) chamber music and jazz series in Central Florida. Further leadership roles included her
terms as President of the Central Florida Chapter and Florida District Governor for National
Association of Teachers of Singing. After moving to NC in 2023, she teaches from her
private studio in North Carolina, continues to perform, both on stage and on TV, and
recently appeared in an Emmy Award winning Covid-19 PSA.

Arisa Kusumi Sullivan

Meet the director

Hillsborough Vocal

Academy

• Good vocal technique and
  stage presence are skills that
  take years to hone and build.
  Getting the right training leads
  to healthy singing, good habits,
  and great performances. Ms.
  Kusumi has years of experience
  on stage and as a teacher to
  help you become the best
  singer you can be.

• Private voice Lessons

Saponi House offers a unique
and ideal venue for student
recitals, Mind Body Vocal
Connection workshops, and
intimate soirées with high
calibre professionals. It is Ms.
Kusumi’s mission to present the
best performances and
workshops from this special
venue.

Arisa Kusumi Sullivan’s

Educational Affiliations

PERFORMANCE COACHING & MORE