BIOGRAPHY
Detroit native Sequina DuBose is a stunning performer most noted for her engaging stage presence and charming musical style.
An interpreter of contemporary and hybrid works, Dr. DuBose launched her debut album entitled Blurred Lines: 21st Century Hybrid Vocal Literature on the Albany Records label in 2022. In the same season, she debuted with the Virginia Arts Festival in two chamber operas as part of the John Duffy Institute for New Opera: Companionship by Rachel Peters and Tales From the Briar Patch by Nkeiru Okoye. She also performed in 2022 as Donna Elvira in Eve Summer’s modern adaptation of Mozart’s Don Giovanni with Opera Carolina. She looks forward to performances as Clara in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess with Opera Carolina in 2023. Other recent highlights include a 2021 performance as soprano soloist with the Tulsa Symphony, Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in Tulsa Oklahoma at the BOK Center (19, 199 seat auditorium) in remembrance of the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Riots, and in 2020 several live-streamed virtual concerts as soloist with Opera Carolina as part of the iStream Virtual Concert Series and a collaboration with the Mint Museum entitled: Voice and Vision Live at the Mint.
With 2019 came the world-premiere of Elegy: In Memoriam of the Emanuel Nine by Leonard Mark Lewis, a work for soprano soloist and chamber orchestra dedicated to the lives lost in the tragic shooting at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, on June 12, 2015. Additionally, Dr. DuBose created the role of Philomena in the world premiere performances of the electronic chamber opera, Nightingale and the Tower (Jason Treuting, Rebecca Comerford, Beth Meyers, Mikael Jorgensen). The work’s neo-classical score featured adult singers, a children’s ensemble, orchestra, synthesizers, and a long-string harp coined “Sonic Butterfly” by artist Andrea Brook; demonstrative of the movement toward technology integration in 21st-century hybrid works on the operatic stage.
Additional distinctive engagements include: performances as a soloist and ensemble member in Underground Railroad: A Spiritual Journey, a concert series that culminated in a performance at the Metropolitan Opera with international opera icon Kathleen Battle; a debut with Michigan Opera Theater as 4th Maidservant in Strauss' Elektra; and performances with both the Lyric Opera of Chicago and Royal Danish Opera as Annie in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. Dr. DuBose also sang 40 consecutive performances as Clara in the 75th Anniversary National Tour of Porgy and Bess where critics raved, “her lovely lyric soprano spun Summertime winningly…she gave unusual stature to Clara as a figure of tragic grandeur” (South Florida Classical Review). As Clorinda in Rossini’s La Cenerentola with Opera Memphis, critics praised her portrayal of the wicked stepsister as one of “incessant vanity”, with both sisters praised for characterization “conceived as zany grotesques…as colorful as their voices” (Memphis Commercial Appeal). Additionally, Dr. DuBose has portrayed Musetta in Puccini’s La Bohème, reprised the role of Clorinda with Dicapo Opera, and portrayed Rachel in the world premiere of Nkeiru Okoye's folk opera Harriet Tubman: When I Cross That Line to Freedom with American Opera Projects in New York City. Dr. DuBose has also performed with the Opera Company of Philadelphia and Utah Festival Opera and Musical theatre Company. Other performed roles include Pamina in Mozart’s, The Magic Flute, Erisbe in Cavalli's L'Ormindo, Lauretta in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, Nanetta in Verdi’s, Falstaff, and both Susanna and Countess in Mozart’s, The Marriage of Figaro.
A versatile actress and crossover artist, Dr. DuBose has performed as Cleopatra in an Off-Broadway production of Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, as Lady in Blue in ArtsCentric’s production of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow is Enuf, as Chloe in a New York Musical Theater Festival reading of 7:32, The Musical, and as Deena Jones in the hit musical Dreamgirls. She has performed as an ensemble member in Most Happy Fella and Showboat with Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre Company. She has also toured as a soloist with The American Spiritual Ensemble and with Chorale Le Chateau alongside famed trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO) performing his work, Abyssinian Mass. She was a finalist in the Kurt Weill Foundation Lotte Lenya Vocal Competition, and placed third in the prestigious American Traditions Competition.
Sequina DuBose has served as the Director of Development for ArtsCentric an African-American-led theater company, since 2016. In this role, she has successfully coordinated with board and company members to write and submit grant proposals resulting in over $100,000 in funding to date. She continues to serve as a board member for ArtsCentric and is also the current Board Vice-President for The International Florence Price Festival.
Dr. DuBose serves as Assistant Professor of Classical and Contemporary Voice at UNC Charlotte and serves as Co-Coordinator of the Musical Theatre Certificate Program. Her research is centered on the impact of genre fusion and improvisation in 21st-century operas on vocal pedagogy and performance practice. Her interests span to include hybrid works that incorporate contemporary commercial music, musical theater, and music of the African diaspora.
Dr. DuBose received her bachelor’s degree in Music from Morgan State University, a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from George Mason University and an Artist Certificate in Vocal Performance from Manhattan School of Music. Dr. DuBose completed her doctoral degree in Vocal Pedagogy at the University of Maryland College Park where she was a member of the inter-departmental I.D.E.A. Committee (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access) and studied with the late renowned opera singer, Carmen Balthrop.
Dr. DuBose continues her work as an arts advocate, educator, and administrator while maintaining an active concert and performing arts career. She is a member of the American Guild of Musical Artists and serves as faculty advisor for Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity.
ENGAGEMENTS
Upcoming
Soloist
Dett and Bernstein with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra
09/30/2023 @ 7:30 pm
Sarah Belk Gambrell Center for the Arts and Civic Engagement, Sandra Levine Theatre
2319 Wellesley Ave, Charlotte, NC 28207
GET TICKETS
Soloist
The Music of Margaret Bonds II:
The Songs
11/04/2023 @ 7:30 pm
Queens Hall
1900 Selwyn Avenue, Charlotte, NC 28274
MORE INFO
Soprano Soloist (Carmina Burana) Carl Orff
02/09/2024 @ 7:30 pm
P.E. Monroe Auditorium
Lenoir-Rhyne University
775 6th St NE, Hickory, NC 28601
GET TICKETS
2023
Soloist
New Colors for the Canon:
A Celebration of African-American and Hispanic Song Composers
02/09/2023 12:30 pm
University of Maryland
Gildenhorn Recital Hall
Sequina DuBose & Friends
UNCC Faculty Recital
04/04/2023 7:30 pm
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Rowe Recital Hall
Clara
(Porgy and Bess) George Gershwin
01/ 22 - 01/28/2023
Opera Carolina
2022
Soprano Soloist
(All Rise) Wynton Marsalis
10/2022
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra/Orchestra Iowa
Hancher Auditorium
Sister Sparrow
(Tales from the Briarpatch)
06/2022
John Duffy Institute for New Opera/Virginia Arts Festival
Attucks Theater
Viv
(Companionship) Rachel J. Peters
06/2022
John Duffy Institute for New Opera/Virginia Arts Festival
Attucks Theater
Soprano Soloist,
I Am Queen,
a multi-platform event celebrating Black Women in Charlotte through spoken word and musical performances from local Black women artists
03/2022
Charlotte Symphony, Belk Theater
Donna Elvira
(Don Giovanni) W.A. Mozart
02/2022
Opera Carolina
2021
Coretta Scott King cover
(I Dream) Douglas Tappin
09/2022
Opera Carolina
Soprano Soloist
(All Rise) Wynton Marsalis
06/2022
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra/Tulsa Symphony
BOK Center
Soprano Soloist,
iStream Virtual Concert Series
(Black History Month and Women’s Month Presentations)
01/28/2021 & 03/14/2021
Opera Carolina
2020
Soprano Soloist,
Voice and Vision: Live at the Mint, virtual concert
05/29/202
Opera Carolina & The Mint Museum
Soprano Solo Recital,
iStream Virtual Concert Series
05/08/2020
Opera Carolina,Opera Carolina
Soprano Soloist
(Elegy: In Memoriam of the Emanuel Nine) Mark Lewis
01/26/2020
Selwyn Avenue Presbyterian Church
Soprano Soloist,
Bridging Musical Worlds
Concert featuring Charlotte Folk Society, Charlotte Symphony,
and jazz group A Sign of The Times
01/2020
Friendship Missionary Baptist Church
2019
Soprano Soloist
(Elegy: In Memoriam of the Emanuel 9)
11/2019
SC Teachers Association Conference
Newberry College, SC
Coretta Scott King
(Workshop Reading of I Dream) Douglas Tappin
10/2019
Opera Carolina
Philomena
(Nightingale and The Tower) Beth Meyers/Jason Treuting
05/2019
World Premiere/Ojai Youth Opera Company
PAST PERFORMANCES
Soloist
(Harmoniemesse) Haydn
07/2018
University of MD Summer Orchestra & Choir
Dekelboum Concert Hall
UMD School of Music
Ensemble/Soloist
(Kathleen Battle Underground Railroad: A Spiritual Journey)
03/2018
Harriman-Jewell Series, Kauffman Center for the Performing
Ensemble/Soloist
(Kathleen Battle Underground Railroad: A Spiritual Journey)
01/2018
Kennedy Center Opera House
Deena
(Dreamgirls)
09 - 12/2017
Toby’s Dinner Theatre of Columbia
Ensemble/Soloist
(Kathleen Battle Underground Railroad: A Spiritual Journey)
11/2016
Metropolitan Opera
Ensemble/Soloist
The American Spiritual Ensemble National/International Tour
2011 - 2016
US, Spain, Ecuador
Deena
(Dreamgirls)
08/2016
ArtsCentric
Fourth Maid
(Elektra) Richard Strauss
10/2014
Michigan Opera Theater
Clara cover/Bess cover
(Porgy and Bess) George Gershwin
06/2014
Princeton Festival
Annie
(Porgy and Bess) George Gershwin
03/2014
Royal Danish Opera /
Director: John Doyle
Rachel
(Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed That Line to Freedom) Nkeiru Okoye
12/2013
Semi-staged World Premiere /American Opera Projects
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Langston Hughes Auditorium
Ensemble/Soloist
(Abyssinian Mass) Wynton Marsalis
World Premiere /Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra
10/2013
Rose Theater, Lincoln Center
Conductor: Damien Sneed
Lady in Blue
(For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf) Ntozake Shange
07/2013
ArtsCentric
Rose
(Fences) August Wilson
04-05/2013
Urban Theatrical Players
Paul Robeson Theater
Cleopatra
(Antony and Cleopatra) Shakespeare
12/2012
Off-Broadway
The American Theater of Actors
Victoria
(Mask in the Mirror) Richard Thompson
07/2012
World Premiere/Trilogy Opera
Ensemble/Soloist
(All Rise) Wynton Marsalis
2011
Lincoln Center/NY Philharmonic/
Conductor: Kurt Masur
Clorinda
(La Cenerentola)
2011
DiCapo Opera
Conductor: Pacien Mazzagatti
Lauretta
(Gianni Schicchi)
2011
DiCapo Opera
Conductor: Pacien Mazzagatti
Musetta
(La Bohème) Puccini
2010
DiCapo Opera
Conductor: Pacien Mazzagatti
Clara
(Porgy and Bess) George Gershwin
2010
75th Anniversary National Tour
/Director: Charles Randolph Wright
Annie cover/Soloist
(Porgy and Bess) George Gershwin
2009
Lyric Opera of Chicago/
Director: Francesca Zambello
Clorinda
(La Cenerentola) Rossini
2008
Opera Memphis
Conductor: Michael Ching
Micaëla
(Scenes from Carmen) Bizet
2008
Mignon Dunn Role Prep Course
Manhattan School of Music
