Karen Parks is a Fulbright Scholar, Olivier Award nominee, and Billboard chart-topper. She also serves as master teacher, classical panelist, and vocal consultant for YoungArts (Presidential Scholars), Broadway, film and TV. Parks has performed in twelve languages and fourteen countries at major concert halls, cathedrals, and opera houses, worldwide. Her career highlights include performances at Carnegie Recital Hall, Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, London’s Old Vic Theatre, the renowned APOLLO in New York City, and with the San Francisco Opera, Savonlinna Opera, London, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Budapest, Göteborg, UNICEF’s World Symphony, and the Boston Pops.
As a Fulbright scholar, Parks was awarded exclusive study with the maestro at La Scala Opera in Milan, Italy, and was nominated for an Olivier Award for her performances of Cindy Lou in Carmen Jones at London’s Old Vic Theatre. Her numerous solo and collaborative recordings include: Nobody Knows: Songs by Harry T. Burleigh, which debuted at #2 on the Billboard Charts (classical); Carmen Jones (EMI); Nocturne, the first English language album of Finnish classical poetry; the world premiere of Perfect Harmony (recorded, televised, and aired internationally); Song of America, a compilation album of songs by renowned artists related to the history of America; and Rosa Parks: Pure Love, an oratorio concerned with the ideas of freedom, liberty, and justice, by progressive composer Wadada Leo Smith.
She performed a concert commissioned by Dame Janet Baker at Barbican Hall, toured as Micaela in Carmen with the San Francisco Opera's touring company and sang the role of Nedda in Pagliacci for three seasons at the Savonlinna Opera Festival. She has performed in twelve languages at major opera houses and concert halls worldwide including Carnegie Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall, The Kennedy Center and the Boston Pops.
Karen's voice clients and students have performed at major opera houses and concert halls, nationally and internationally, including Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. They also perform leading roles on Broadway and National tours in The Book of Mormon, Phantom of the Opera, Newsies, The Lion King, West Side Story and have been selected to perform on the highly coveted Broadway's Rising Stars program at New York City's Town Hall.
The majority of Karen's students are featured in leading roles for their university productions and her students have been accepted (more than 95% on full scholarship) to major universities including Julliard, Manhattan School of Music, NYU, AMDA, Oberlin Conservatory, Berklee School of Music, Mannes, University of Michigan, Indiana University and University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.
Parks received her undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate degrees at Furman University, the University of Texas at Austin and the University of California at Santa Barbara in Vocal Performance and Vocal Pedagogy. She also specializes in Musical Theatre and the African American Spiritual.
Having served on the faculty of NYU/Tisch School of Dramatic Arts, New Studio on Broadway, Parks is currently Associate Professor of Vocal Arts and Opera at the University of Southern California and the CEO and Director of Stagebound, Inc.