Grace Steiner portrait

Biography

I am a Kansas-born educator and performer committed to sharing music with the communities around me. I earned a BM in Vocal Performance from Kansas State University and an MM in Voice from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where I received a Preparing Future Faculty Fellowship. I completed a Doctor of Musical Arts in Voice and Opera at the University of Kansas, where I served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant in Voice, and I later taught Applied Voice as an Adjunct Professor of Music at Rockhurst University while maintaining a private studio for singers of all ages.

I have performed throughout the United States and abroad with organizations including KU Opera, UMKC Opera, Landlocked Opera, Sun Valley Music Festival Chamber Program, and the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, where I made my European orchestral debut in selections from Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story. In 2019, I was a Mezzo-Soprano Young Artist with the Ad Astra Music Festival. Recent highlights include Diana in the world premiere of Susan Kander’s chamber opera Carry My Own Suitcase, a recipient of the 2022 Opera America Discovery Grant, and Mrs. Lovett in KU’s 2024 production of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd. Other operatic roles include Nerone ( L’incoronazione di Poppea), Sorceress (Dido and Aeneas), Ruth ( Pirates of Penzance), and Dritte Dame ( Die Zauberflote).

I am committed to research and to refining my work in the voice studio. My interests include the use of musical theatre repertoire in classical voice training and the study of underused solo voice repertoire for undergraduate singers. I currently serve as Assistant Instructional Professor of Music at Pittsburg State University and was selected for the 2025 cohort of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Intern Program, a fully funded professional-development initiative for early-career voice teachers.

Current Position

Assistant Instructional Professor of Music, Pittsburg State University

Experience

Assistant Instructional Professor of Music (Voice/Music History)
Pittsburg State University
Teaching
Adjunct Professor of Music (Voice)
Rockhurst University
Teaching
Graduate Teaching Assistant
The University of Kansas
Taught weekly private voice lessons for undergraduate vocal performance, vocal music education, and music-minor students.
Teaching
Voice Teacher
Olathe Music Academy
Teaching
Mezzo-Soprano Young Artist
Ad Astra Music Festival
Performed in weekly concerts and contributed to the development of the Young Artist recital Our Union to Restore.
Performing

Education

Doctor of Musical Arts, Voice and Opera
University of Kansas
Dissertation: Broadway for Bel Canto
Terminal degree
Master of Music, Voice and Opera
University of Missouri–Kansas City
Graduate study
Bachelor of Music, Vocal Music Performance
Kansas State University
Undergraduate study

Upcoming appearances and recent performance listings are available on the Events page.