Karen Parks is an international performing and recording artist, creator, artistic director, and scholar who serves as a master artist, performance coach, and vocal consultant for stage (Broadway and opera), film, and TV. Her scholarship is defined by "Healthy Vocal Versatility" and a commitment to decolonizing the American musical canon. A double Fulbright Scholar at La Scala Opera in Milan, Italy, and an Olivier Award nominee for her performance in Carmen Jones (London’s Old Vic), Parks is an artist of international stature. She has performed in twelve languages and fourteen countries at the world’s most prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, the San Francisco Opera, Savonlinna Opera, The Mozarteum, The APOLLO Theater, and The Boston Pops.
In the recording arts, her extensive discography includes the original cast recording of Carmen Jones (EMI), recorded at the iconic Abbey Road Studios, which earned her an Olivier Award nomination. Other notable releases include Nocturne, the first English-language album of Finnish classical poetry; Song of America, a historical compilation of songs by renowned American artists; and her world-premiere CD, Nobody Knows: Songs of Harry T. Burleigh. This landmark project debuted at #2 on the Billboard Classical Charts, serving as a scholarly preservation of the African American Spiritual and Art Song tradition.
Parks is the visionary behind Decolonized: The Matriarchs and In Her Key, multi-disciplinary initiatives that synthesize her performance mastery with deep historical inquiry. By integrating primary source texts and unique lived experiences into the performance space, she continues to redefine the role of the 21st-century Artist-Scholar and remains at the forefront of vocal innovation, advocacy, and the preservation of Black musical excellence.
Having served as Associate Professor of Practice in Vocal Arts, Opera, Musical Theatre, and Contemporary Music at the USC Thornton School of Music, and on the Musical Theatre faculty at New York University (Tisch), Parks continues to dedicate her career to the intersection of elite performance and transformative pedagogy. She remains a dedicated mentor, recruiting and cultivating world-class talent across all musical disciplines.
There is nothing greater than love; I am love,
Song is universal; it is a healer.
My voice is a gift; it is the only instrument not made by man.
I am thankful.
—Stagebound Affirmation
