Bronwen Forbay
Style: Opera; Classical; Musical Theatre
Title: Associate Professor of Voice, Furman University
Bio:
Hailed by Opera Magazine as “At once powerful, radiant, timbrally beautiful, and balanced throughout the range, her soprano is that of a singer at the top of her game,” Durban-born South African Fulbrighter Bronwen Forbay has earned acclaim in opera, concert, and recital across three continents.
Her operatic highlights include Mozart’s Queen of the Night (The Magic Flute) with Wolf Trap Opera, Eugene Opera, and Tulsa Opera; Orasia, Queen of Thrace (U.S. premiere of Telemann’s Orpheus); Adina (L’Elisir d’amore); Velmyra (Wading Home by Mary Alice Rich); Violetta (La Traviata); and the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor with Cape Town Opera.
On the concert stage, she has appeared as soloist in works ranging from Bach’s B Minor Mass (Santa Fe), Handel’s Creation (Cincinnati), Mozart’s Mass in C Minor (Cincinnati), Requiem (Northern Italy tour: Venice, Verona, Vicenza), Mendelssohn’s Elijah (Dallas), to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony (Plano, TX) and Missa Solemnis (Tulsa). She has also championed modern works, including Miller’s ReWind Cantata for Voice, Tape, and Testimony (Royal Festival Hall, London) and Mnomiya’s Ingqai sivele we-Africa (Durban).
A devoted recitalist, Forbay has performed across South Africa, the U.S., and Europe, including the American Cathedral in Paris's Les Arts Georges V recital series, and in Los Angeles with pianist Dr. Stephen Pierce.
Recognized with numerous honors including the prestigious Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Music (2007) and first prize in the inaugural UNISA Southern African Voice Competition (2005), Forbay was selected for the 2013 NATS Intern Program and has presented at NATS conferences across the U.S. and South Africa, College Music Society, and the International Congress of Voice Teachers. A sought-after adjudicator and clinician, Forbay served on the voice faculty of the prestigious Schmidt Vocal Arts Summer Institute in 2025.
Recent engagements include solo appearances with the Johannesburg and KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestras, a recital with organist Dr. Charles Tompkins on the Hartness Recital Series, and Contessa Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro) with the Greenville Symphony.
Dr. Forbay is an Associate Professor of Voice at Furman University (Greenville, SC). She previously served on the faculty of the University of KwaZulu-Natal while completing her Fulbright homestay, and has also taught at the University of Mary Hardin–Baylor, Sam Houston State University, and McLennan Community College. In 2025, she taught masterclasses at the Universities of Cape Town, Stellenbosch, KwaZulu-Natal, and for Cape Town Opera’s Young Artist Programme. She holds degrees from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Manhattan School of Music, Southern Methodist University, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and is the first South African woman to earn a DMA in Voice Performance.
Committed to leadership and scholarship, Forbay chaired the TMTA Voice Contest (2018–2021), co-founded and serves as Treasurer of the South Africa Chapter of NATS, and was President of Furman’s BFSA (2024–2025). With Dr. Christian Bester (Oklahoma State University), she has coauthored articles on Afrikaans art song in the Journal of Singing. Their book "Afrikaans Art Song Literature: A Translation and Pronunciation Guide" was published by Oxford University Press in 2025.
Voice Type: Soprano
Music Styles Taught: Opera; Classical; Musical Theatre
Availability: I am available as a performer; I am available as a clinician or presenter; I accept students through a college or university program
Contact Information
Associated with Randall Umstead.
