Vanessa Salaz

Vanessa returned to Tucson (her hometown) after a decade of living and studying in New York and performing opera around the world.

She was the national first place winner of the prestigious NATS Artist Award (NATSAA) leading to her Carnegie Hall debut in Stern Auditorium in 2001 and many subsequent guest recital appearances throughout the country. She has been a multiple prizewinner in the Metropolitan Opera Auditions, including 2nd place in the Western Region. She has also participated in many international competitions, including the final round of the Francisco Vinas International Singing Competition in Barcelona, Spain. She has participated in prestigious young artist programs such as Music Academy of the West, Opera Theater of St. Louis, International Institute of Vocal Arts in Chiari, Italy, and the International Vocal Arts Institute in Tel Aviv, Israel, allowing her to receive guidance and training from many of the music world’s top artists such as Marilyn Horne, Joan Dornemann, Stephen Lord, Warren Jones and Patricia McCaffrey.

On the concert stage, Vanessa made her Carnegie Hall debut as the soprano soloist with the New England Symphonic Ensemble in Schubert’s Mass in G. Other performances include solo’s in Sheherazade (Ravel), The Seasons (Haydn), Christmas Oratorio (Bach), Elijah (Mendelssohn), Exsultate Jubilate (Mozart), and Messiah (Handel).

She was the soprano soloist with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra and Boys Chorus in the Christmas Concert special, “Christmas at the Mission” which was nationally broadcast on PBS. Recently she was a guest soloist with the University of Arizona Wind Symphony, performing the soprano solos in David Maslanka’s Mass. 

Other recent operatic performances include Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro with Connecticut Grand Opera, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with the Festival Lyrique en Mer in Belle Ile, France, and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with Opera in the Heights in Houston, TX. 

Vanessa holds a Master of Music degree and Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Arizona where she studied with Professor Charles Roe and a Professional Studies Certificate from Manhattan School of Music where she studied with Patricia McCaffrey and Warren Jones.

Along with teaching privately, she is presently an Opera Teaching Artist with the O.M.A. (Opening Minds Through The Arts) program through the Tucson Unified School District. She is overjoyed to share her art form with elementary students throughout Tucson. 

No matter where her life has taken her, she has always considered Saint Thomas the Apostle Church to be her spiritual home. She truly appreciates every opportunity to share her gifts there.