Nicholas K. Perna

Style: Opera; Rock; Classical; Pop; Musical Theatre

Title: Associate Professor & Director of Vocal Pedaogy CU Boulder

Bio: Tenor Nicholas Perna’s voice has been hailed by the Houston Chronicle as “an impressive sound,” and the South Florida Sun Sentinel praised his “emotionally driven performance.” Perna has appeared multiple times in recent seasons with Opera Mississippi and was a recent finalist for the American Prize for Men in Opera. Perna was twice selected as a Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Artist singer. Equally adept on Operatic and Musical Theater stages roles to his credit include Don José in Carmen and Rodolfo in La Bohème, as well as Ravenal in Show Boat and Archibald Craven in the The Secret Garden. Symphonic appearances include Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde and Beethoven's Symphony no. 9. One of America’s most in-demand vocal cross-trainers, his students have appeared on various stages throughout the world. Student successes include appearances on Broadway (Wicked, Waitress) and regional theaters as well as national and international tours (My Fair Lady, Shrek, The Sound of Music). Perna’s clients have won prestigious competitions including the Lotte Lenya Foundation grand prize and the International Chinese Art Song Competition. His students have been apprentice artists with prestigious summer festivals including The Santa Fe Opera and Glimmerglass Opera. Additionally, he is honored to teach many fellow voice teachers. Those clients have earned tenure track positions at universities and are running successful private studios of classical and musical theater singers. Dr. Perna is Associate Professor and Director of Vocal Pedagogy at the University of Colorado Boulder. There he runs the Berton Coffin Voice Lab and supervises graduate theses and dissertations in voice pedagogy. Perna is the 2025 Van Lawrence Fellowship Winner, for research focusing on velopharyngeal opening in treble musical theater singers. He has publications in Journal of Singing, Journal of Voice, and VOICEPrints. A Presser Music Foundation awardee he has presented research on four continents at events such as the Voice Foundation’s Symposium, the Internation Congress of Voice Teachers, NATS National Conference, and Physiology and Acoustics of Singing (PAS). Dr. Perna’s research areas include voice acoustics, nasality and the singing voice, online voice teaching, and vocal cross training. Perna is a Pan American Vocology Association (PAVA) Recognized Vocologist. Dr. P is the creator and co-host of the VocalFri Podcast, http://www.vocalfri.com. He holds graduate degrees from the University of Miami & the University of Houston. Previous faculty positions include Mississippi College, West Virginia University, and New World School of the Arts. Additionally, Perna has been a voice research associate at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. He has previously served on the faculty of notable continuing education programs such as Donald G. Miller’s Singing Voice Science Workshop and the Acoustic Vocal Pedagogy Workshop. Perna is currently Vice President for Outreach for the National Association of Teachers of Singing (2022-2026). As the Prince in Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges Charles Ward of the Houston Chronicle said, “an impressive sound, (he) made the show work vocally.” Perna was a Finalist for the American Prize: Men in Opera for 2019-2020. Operatic credits include Don José, Rodolfo, The Duke, Nemorino, Alfred, & Tamino. Concert appearances include Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, Beethoven's Symphony no. 9, Handel’s Messiah, & Orff’s Carmina Burana. He can be heard on the Albany label as Paolo in Mancinelli’s Paolo e Francesca. Along with Dr. Mandy Spivak, they created The Comprehensive Britten Song Database. http://www.brittensongdatabase.com. Perna twice apprenticed with the Santa Fe Opera. An active NATS member, he is Vice President for Outreach for the 2022-2026 term. Previously he was Associate Professor and Producer of Lyric Stage @ MC at Mississippi College and a research associate at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. He is the creator and co-host of the VocalFri podcast https://www.vocalfri.com, your weekly dash of voice science, pedagogy, and nerd pop culture. His graduate degrees are from the University of Miami & the University of Houston. Teachers include David Alt, Jerold Siena, & Joseph Evans.

Voice Type: Tenor

Music Styles Taught: Opera; Rock; Classical; Pop; Musical Theatre

Availability: I am available as a performer; I am currently accepting private students; I am available as a clinician or presenter; I accept students through a college or university program

Contact Information

Other Contacts

Mary A. Spivak, Assistant Professor of Voice