Soprano Sydney Kaczorowski
discovers, researches, and performs little-known classical music, especially that of Slavic origin. While undoubtedly passionate about the great classics, she seeks to inspire others with ethnically colorful repertoire.
Ms. Kaczorowski will be heard this season as Gilda/Rigoletto, the Angel/Lauda per la Nativita del Signore by Respighi, the soprano soloist in Faure’s Requiem. Her recent highlights include Violetta/La traviata, and recitals at Chatham University, Music at Third, and the Summer Language Institute at University of Pittsburgh. Ms. Kaczorowski made her European opera debut as Donna Elvira in Prague Summer Nights’ production of Don Giovanni at the historic Estates Theater. She was asked to step into this role while originally at the festival to cover Donna Anna. She also debuted a partial role as First Sprite/Rusalka in a concert of Czech opera scenes under the direction of Timothy Cheek at Divadlo Oskara Nedbala. Other role credits include Sandman/Dew Fairy/Hansel and Gretel, Frasquita/Carmen, and Erste Dame/Die Zauberflote, and she has performed as an oratorio soloist in Handel’s Messiah, Coronation Mass in C major by Mozart, and Mass in G minor by Schubert.
An active recitalist, Ms. Kaczorowski frequently curates programs of both solo and collaborative nature. Her ethnomusicological research and command of Slavic languages has enabled her to enchant audiences with repertoire little-heard outside of their home countries. Her 2024-2025 recital program includes works by Kodaly, Martinu, and Nowowiejski. Other notable recital programs have included Russian romances by Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky, Rossini’s Soirees musicales, and her 10x10: a Musical Exploration and Discovery, in which Ms. Kaczorowski sings in ten languages by ten composers: all works inspired by folk music, stories and other elements of national heritage. She has given recitals at many universities, including Carlow University, Westminster College, Chatham University, and the University of Pittsburgh.
She is a previous First Prize winner in the Balkan division of the Romansiada Vocal Competition. Under non-pandemic circumstances, she would have travelled to Moscow to compete in a round of finals and sing at the Kremlin Palace Theater at a gala concert.
Ms. Kaczorowski’s additional performing credits include her time as a dancer with the Tamburitzans, a Slavic folk arts ensemble. She learned from world-renowned dance choreographers and music arrangers and had the opportunity to tour around the entire continental U.S. Her time with the ensemble led her to her passion for Eastern European folk music and to her becoming specialized in folk-inspired classical music. She received her Master’s Degree from Duquesne University, where she studied with Xiu-ru Liu. Ms. Kaczorowski also earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance at Duquesne University where she studied classical piano with David Allen Wehr which also included playing in masterclasses for distinguished pianists Barbara Nissman and Yeeha Chiu.
In addition to running her private studio, Ms. Kaczorowski also works in the musicianship department at Duquesne University as a teaching assistant.