Sahoko Sato Timpone named Associate Professor of Voice at University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM)

University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Dean Pete Jutras has announced the appointment of Sahoko Sato Timpone, DMA, as CCM's new Associate Professor of Voice. Her faculty appointment officially begins on Aug. 15, 2025.

Praised by the New York Times as “impressive” and by New York Arts for her “rich, glowing” tone, Japanese American mezzo-soprano Sahoko Sato Timpone has appeared in opera and concert performances throughout North America, Europe and Asia.

Recent performances include Verdi’s Requiem at Carnegie Hall with Masterwork Chorus, Mary in Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer with Opera Maine, Mahler’s Second and Third Symphonies and Rückert Lieder with the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra and the Florida State University Symphony, and Tryptique by Raymond Moulaert with Terra Nova Collective in Belgium.

Career highlights include her Carnegie Hall debut in A Midsummer Night’s Dream with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields under Sir Neville Marriner, narrated by Christopher Plummer; operatic roles with the Seiji Ozawa Opera Academy, Tokyo Spring Festival (formerly Tokyo Opera Nomori) and the Saito Kinen Festival — all under the direction of Seiji Ozawa — as well as with Opera Maine, St. Petersburg Opera, Syracuse Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Baltimore Opera and Berkshire Opera. She received critical acclaim for her Off-Broadway debut in ¡Figaro 90210! (Ms. Sun-Yi Nam/Marcellina), and performed in the New York premiere of Carlisle Floyd’s Prince of Players with the Little Opera Theatre of New York. Additional concert engagements include solo appearances with the Seattle Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Sapporo Symphony, Singapore Symphony Orchestra and the New York Choral Society, as well as performances of Verdi’s Requiem with Music Worcester and Mozart’s Requiem with the Tallahassee Community Chorus.

An advocate for new music and art song, she has performed at venues such as Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall, Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia, the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Art Song Composition Award Recital, and the Art Song Preservation Society of New York. Her international recital appearances include Granada, Spain, as First Prize winner of the Miguel Zanetti International Spanish Song Competition. Her solo album Songs of Japonisme: Early 20th Century Art Song from Japan and the Westwith pianist Kenneth Merrill was released by Sheva Collection/Naxos. She has premiered new works including David Soldier’s Eighth Hour of Amduat (Mulatta Records).

A sought-after clinician, lecturer and researcher, Timpone has presented for organizations such as NATS, the National Opera Association (NOA), the College Music Society (CMS), and the New York Singing Teachers' Association (NYSTA), as well as at institutions across Asia and Europe. Her students have earned major roles and placements in young artist programs and competitions throughout the United States and internationally.

She is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music (MM), New England Conservatory (BM), and Rutgers University (DMA), where she was awarded the Irene Alm Memorial Prize for excellence in performance and scholarly research. She has served on the voice faculty at Florida State University since 2017, and on the summer faculty of programs including the Sicily International Music Festival, Tokyo International Vocal Arts Academy and Lunigiana International Music Festival. During the 2024–2025 academic year, she was a Visiting Scholar at the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp’s research unit Labo XIX&XX, focusing on Belgian Art Song. She also serves on the Board of Directors for Joy In Singing.

A native of Tokyo who grew up in Germany and the United States, she is also a licensed kimono dresser and has studied Japanese tea ceremony (Urasenke School) and kabuki-style dance (Soke Fujima School).

"Dr. Timpone brings an impressive record of concert and opera performance, recording, scholarly writing and proven teaching to CCM’s outstanding Voice Department," said Jutras. "I am grateful to our search committee chair Daniel Weeks and committee members Quinn Patrick Ankrum, Gwendolyn Coleman, Amy Johnson, Elliot Madore, BrettScott and Kenneth Shaw for their efforts with this successful search."

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