Jocelyn Zelasko, soprano

Recognized for her "vocal brilliance" (City Pleasures) and "absolutely thrilling" voice (Around the Town Chicago), Metro-Detroit based soprano, Jocelyn Zelasko, is a versatile musician who is celebrated as an insightful performer with a captivating stage presence. She has “shaken the halls with sublime ecstatic vocals” (I Care if You Listen) performing chamber music, opera, and art song in festivals and concerts throughout Europe, the Caribbean, and North America. She the vocalist for NMD and a founding member of contemporary performance collective Juxtatonal (JUX). Her career began in the classical realm, but a passion for making complex vocal music accessible to audiences led her to pursue new music. Zelasko has performed world premieres with the Grammy award-winning ensemble Eighth Blackbird, Eastman Broadband Ensemble, Matt Ulery Trio, and Juxtatonal. She has also sung premieres with many outstanding performers including Vicky Chow, Tony Arnold, Matthew Duvall, and Yvonne Lam.

As an advocate for the creation of new works, Zelasko has commissioned 18 composers including Angélica Negrón, Vid Smooke, Michelle McQuade Dewhirst, Matthew Burtner, and Jorge Sosa. Inspired by Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fire and volcanoes, Zelasko is currently writing the libretto for a multimedia eco-acoustic work that examines the influences of nature and culture on the responsibility and fear of awakening one's potential. The six-movement libretto explores her experience of living in the "in-between" of bounded cultures while poetically “talking story” about her connectedness to Hawaii, her kama’aina (local) o’hana (family), their aloha’aina (love of land), and the goddess Pele. Additionally, Zelasko originated the title role of 100 year-old photographer, Pat Sturn, in the new-mixed media chamber opera, "Pat & Emilia" (Smallman/Gervais with Sievers-Hunt) which also toured extensively in Canada and the Great Lakes region from 2015 – 2018.

Zelasko received bachelor’s degrees in vocal performance and economics from Oakland University where she was also a scholarship athlete. Furthering her education, she received a master’s degree in music from the University of Iowa. She studied with acclaimed voice professor Dr. Edith Diggory and voice scientist Dr. Ingo Titze. In addition to her work as a performer, Zelasko writes articles on embracing new music, participates in panel discussions on diversity, and maintains a thriving private voice studio. When not creating, you can find her competing on the golf course, surfing in the ocean, or squishing her kittens.