Laquita Mitchell

Soprano and Westminster Choir College alumna Laquita Mitchell performs with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra at its Holiday POPS! concert on Tuesday, December 14 at 7:30 p.m. at Matthews Theatre, McCarter Theatre Center.

Mitchell sings Giacomo Puccini’s “O mio babbino caro” from Gianni Schicchi, Robert MacGimsey’s spiritual-inspired song “Sweet Little Jesus Boy,” and an arrangement of “This Little Light of Mine.” Conducted by Edward T. Cone Music Director Rossen Milanov, the program also includes dances from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera The Snow Maiden and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, plus Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Fantasia on Greensleeves,” Johann Strauss Jr.’s “Blue Danube” waltz, and favorites including “Sleigh Ride” by Leroy Anderson.

“I’m excited to welcome Laquita Mitchell back to Princeton and have her be a part of our holiday celebration. Her performance will bring a poignancy to this year’s program as well as a note of hope to carry us through to the new year,” says Milanov.

Mitchell earned positive reviews for her début as Bess in Porgy and Bess with the San Francisco Opera. She reprised the role with opera companies and orchestras nationwide and with Grange Park Opera in the U.K. and the Lithuanian State Symphony. She recently performed the title role in Tom Cipullo’s Josephine with Opera Colorado, as well as The Promise of Living, a concert program she conceived. She appeared in New York Philharmonic’s Bandwagon concerts and the Kauffmann Music Center’s Musical Storefront series in spring 2021, and performed with the Columbus Symphony and Rhode Island Philharmonic.

Mitchell was soloist in the world première of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Paul Moravec’s Sanctuary Road at Carnegie Hall with Oratorio Society of New York which was nominated for a 2021 Grammy for Best Choral Performance. In summer 2021, she was featured on Classical Tahoe’s 10th Anniversary Season as well as the Bard Music Festival. A native of New York City, and recipient of numerous awards including a 2004 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Grand Prize, a Sara Tucker Award, and First Prize Winner of the Wiener Kammer Oper’s Hans Gabor Belvedere Competition, Ms. Mitchell holds a Master of Music degree and the Professional Studies Certificate at the Manhattan School of Music, and completed undergraduate studies at Westminster Choir College.

Children ages 5-17 are welcome to attend the concert at half-price with purchase of an adult ticket. McCarter’s COVID-19 policies of masks/photo ID/proof of full doses of vaccination or proof of a negative COVID test result applies to all children, though a birth certificate may be substituted for a photo ID.

Tickets range from $20-$50 for adults and half-price for youths 5-17. Visit princetonsymphony.org or call (609) 258-2787.