Biography
Dr. Colleen Cole Beucher, lyric soprano, joined the voice faculty at the University of Florida in fall 2024. Previously, she held teaching positions at the University of Northern Alabama, University of Michigan, and Ball State University. Dr. Beucher earned her Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance from the University of Michigan. Her performance expertise and research interests include 19th- and 20th-century opera, African American and African Diaspora art song, and Catalan art song.
Dr. Beucher’s diverse performance experience shapes and enhances both her teaching and research. Notable roles in her career include Suor Angelica in Suor Angelica (2025, 2016), Vixen in Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen (2022), Cendrillon in Massenet’s Cendrillon (2021), Euridice in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice (2021), and Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus (2020). She has competed with distinction, earning multiple awards at the 2024 and 2022 George Shirley Competition, including Second Place in the Pre-Professional Division, First Place Soprano, First Place Operatic Aria, Willis Patterson Art Song Price, and the Encouragement Prize for Spiritual. Dr. Beucher was a finalist in both the William C. Byrd competition and the Opera MODO Detroit Area Competition in 2023. Her earlier successes include achieving semi-finalist status in the Federation of Music Clubs Young Artist Competition and claiming first place in the Professional Voice Division of the Coeur d’Alene National Young Artists Competition. At the start of her career, Dr. Beucher appeared as a Young Artist with Asheville Lyric Opera (2017), portraying Giannetta in Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore, and made her European debut in Prague in 2016 as the title role in Puccini’s Suor Angelica. She holds a Master of Music from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Bachelor of Music from Indiana University.
While Dr. Beucher specializes in Western classical vocal technique, she is also adept at teaching and performing across various genres. She has extensive experience cross-training students in classical, musical theater, jazz, and contemporary commercial music. As an applied voice instructor, Dr. Beucher focuses on developing each student's unique vocal strengths while expanding their repertoire across different musical styles. Her students have been accepted for further study into premier institutions such as the San Francisco Conservatory, Oberlin Conservatory, Indiana University Bloomington, Juilliard, Cincinnati Conservatory, Boston Conservatory, and the University of Michigan.