Caroline McKenzie, soprano

Caroline McKenzie has sung opera, oratorio, and liturgical music in Los Angeles, Europe, and her native New York. Influenced by singers so diverse as “Ella Fitzgerald, Bette Midler, Mary J. Blige, and Mel Torme,” she’s fallen into a style she calls “smooth jazz sacred,” a sound easily identified on her CD, Christmas with Caroline. Her classical roots, however, remain strong and impressive.  Don Heckman of the Los Angeles Times praised her “rich timbres and stratospheric [range]” while the Hardwick Gazette’s David Rodgers noted “great control with seeming effortlessness…and the ability to convey the full emotions of the libretto.”  She attributes a solid technique to generous and gifted teachers, including Deanna Murray, Marvellee Cariaga, and the late Rose Bampton.   

Caroline counts among her career highlights a Shabat welcome service for President Nelson Mandela; a Duke Ellington Centennial tribute with her cabaret-singer brother, Leonard, and vibraphonist Jay Hogarth at Tarrytown Music Hall; and her frequent solo work with the Santa Clarita Master Chorale.  

Caroline has been soprano soloist for the Los Angeles Bach Festival since 2008.  She sings with the Los Angeles Master Chorale and is a section leader at First Congregational Church, Los Angeles.  In her off time, owns and operates Par Excellence Tutoring Service, a company uniquely dedicated to tutoring in English.  Caroline lives in Los Angeles with her percussionist husband, Ken Robinson.   

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