American mezzo-soprano Ruth Ginelle Heald is equally at home singing baroque oratorio as she is performing musical theater repertoire or 21st century art song. Operatic credits include Mrs. Soames in Ned Rorem’s Our Town (Willamette Dramatic Vocal Arts), Featured Soloist in Purcell’s King Arthur (Chicago College of Performing Arts), and the title role in Carmen (Willamette Dramatic Vocal Arts). Highlights from musical theater include Belle in Beauty and the Beast (Centerstage Productions, Roseburg, OR), Rose in Secret Garden (Willamette Dramatic Vocal Arts), and the title character in the world premiere of Jason Heald’s Constance, a musical about Oscar Wilde and his wife, Constance Lloyd (Oregon Musical Theatre Festival). Ms. Heald was a chorus member of Opera Theater Oregon’s Giasone and the Argonauts, a fusion of 17th century opera, 1960s cinema, and recycled fashion.
Ms. Heald has appeared as a featured soloist with Chicago Choral Artists (Vaughan Williams Mass in G minor), Portland Symphonic Choir (Rachmaninoff All Night Vigil), Umpqua Chamber Orchestra (Purcell Dido and Aeneas), and Willamette Master Chorus (Handel Messiah). She was a vocalist and percussionist for the 2016 Presbyterian General Assembly. In 2018, Ms. Heald was invited to perform new art songs by Jason A. Heald as a presenter at the College Music Society National Convention in Vancouver, B.C. Ms. Heald was the mezzo-soprano soloist in New now next: 21st century music for voice and piano, a recital of new music curated by pianist Dana Brown and presented at the 2019 Central Region Conference of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS).
As a scholarship recipient, Ruth Ginelle Heald attended the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS) in Graz as part of their summer opera studio program. Highlights include a trio performance of Brahms Zwei Gesänge für eine Altstimme mit Bratsche und Klavier, a recital rendition of “What a Movie!” from Bernstein Trouble in Tahiti, and singing in a quartet for a traditional Austrian wedding.
A native Oregonian, Ruth Ginelle Heald completed her undergraduate studies in vocal performance and music education at Willamette University in Salem, OR where she was a Rogers Scholar and a Carson Grant recipient. With the support of a Dream$avers grant, she earned a Bachelor of Science in speech and hearing sciences at Portland State University. Ms. Heald earned a Master of Music in Voice Performance at Chicago College of Performing Arts where she studied with Judith Haddon. In addition to singing, Ms. Heald enjoys a career as a percussionist and church choir director.
