Nina Garguilo, Dr.

Biography

Originally from Memphis, Nina Garguilo is excited to continue as Director of Choirs at Glendale Community College. She has been performing, teaching, lecturing, and leading vocal & choral workshops in the Phoenix area since 2011. In 2012, she began work as a professional chorister with the Grammy Award-winning Phoenix Chorale. Winning ‘Best Choral Performance' on the album Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil, Nina also shared in the 2015 Grammy Award. Her passion for the vocal arts grew from her earliest experiences in all-state and national honor choir, to her involvement in collegiate groups including UM's Chamber Choir, Mississippi Early Music Ensemble, Opera Chorus, and Jazz Ensemble.

In addition to her Choral experience, she performs solo work frequently. Most recently, she received second place prize in the Phoenix Opera's Southwest Vocal Competition. In 2018, Nina performed as Sarah in Harrower Opera's Ballad of Baby Doe, and has performed roles including Despina (Così fan tutte) Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi), and Maria (West Side Story). In the summer of 2013, Nina sang the title role in Das Tagebuch der Anne Frank at the Mittelsächsisches Theater in Freiberg, Germany. In addition to opera and musical theatre performances, Nina has been an active chorister, and a featured soloist in numerous concerts. While obtaining her Bachelor's degree at the University of Mississippi, Nina was a soloist for Ola Gjeilo's "Tundra," and sang the regional premieres of his "Liberation of Ellisbell" and "New York I & II". She continues to perform in special choral projects including new works and collaborations. Nina is in her third season with Helios: a Modern Renaissance, where she seeks further exploration and artistic expression in early music.

In 2017, Nina earned her Doctorate in Music from Arizona State University, where she held a teaching assistantship from 2013-2015. Her doctoral research brought her to New York and Brooklyn for a "Southern Comfort" recital series. Since then, she has been teaching voice and performing throughout the Valley. Nina loves helping singers of all ages and abilities and aims to instill confidence in her students, whether they be learning new vocal techniques or collaborating with others. She finds joy in exploring style and traits of American music, especially dialect, and she seeks to promote contemporary American repertoire in her work as well as in her instruction.

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