About Erin

Noted for her golden, lyric line and “hilarious acting and excellent timing” (Great Lakes Bay Reviewers Circle), soprano Erin Whitfield is equally comfortable in the worlds of opera and musical theater. Erin is an active performer around Michigan’s Great Lakes Bay region and beyond, frequently on the concert stage or in recital with her husband Collin at area churches. Erin and Collin also look forward to returning to Memorial Presbyterian’s Lenten Concert Series in March 0f 2024, along with a recital at First Presbyterian Church of Flint in early June. Other upcoming events include Monstersongs with Vanishing Elephant Players and as the soprano soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria with the Midland Center Chorale and Choirs of Saginaw Valley State University in April.

Favorite roles Erin has performed include Amalia (She Loves Me), Nettie (Carousel), Musetta (La Boheme), Despina (Cosi fan tutte), and Laurey Williams (Oklahoma), among many others. She “shone” and “eschew[ed] type” (GLBRC) as Judy Steinberg in the Great Lakes Bay regional premiere of It Shoulda Been You at the Pit & Balcony Theater in 2019.

Erin has performed with the Saginaw Choral Society as a chorister and featured soloist since 2018. Impactful experiences with the group include Maurice Duruflé’s powerful Requiem in March of 2023, performing Barber’s “Knoxville: Summer of 1915” at the opening concert of the 2023-24 Museum Series, and the moving piece “Alzheimer’s Stories” by Robert Cohen as the soprano soloist in 2022.

“[The Requiem] had some sophisticated and complex harmonies and a brief soprano solo, Pie Jesu… sang [sic] by Erin Whitfield. She did an excellent job.” - Mark DeWolf-Ott, Eye on the Arts

She and Collin have been featured in numerous church concert series throughout the region, including: First Presbyterian Church of Flint, FPC Bay City, FPC of Saginaw, FPC of Caro, United Church of Christ in Midland, and Memorial Presbyterian Church of Midland. Erin has also enjoyed serving as Music Director for 25th Annual … Spelling Bee at the Saginaw Academy of Science & Art, Treasure Island presented by Delta College and Bay City Players, and Seussical and Honk! for the Midland Center for the Arts Youth Theatre program.

Erin is a Seattle-area native, where she was an Associate Chorus member with the Seattle Opera from 2015 to 2018. While with the chorus she performed in Nabucco, The Pearl Fishers, Maria Stuarda, The Flying Dutchman, Le Comte Ory, La Traviata, The Magic Flute, and Aida. Favorite operatic roles include Susanna (The Marriage of Figaro) and Musetta (La boheme), both presented by Operamuse. 

"Musetta and Marcello - the pairing of these two was a pleasure. Erin Whitfield was ... fun and the role was very well sung." ~ Singerreise Podcast

Erin completed her Master of Music degree at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, under the tutelage of Jane Randolph.  She graduated summa cum laude with her Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA.  She and Collin relocated to the Great Lakes Bay region from Seattle in the summer of 2018 for new employment and education opportunities.

In her time off-stage, Erin finds great fulfillment working with voice students of all ages, both as owner of Whitfield Voice Studio and as an Adjunct Voice Instructor at Saginaw Valley State University since fall of 2023. Her voice students compete annually in the local and national levels of the NATS adjudications (national winner 2023 for Upper High School Treble Musical Theater), state Solo & Ensemble contests, school and local theater productions, and present regular studio recitals. She also enjoys cooking, reading, traveling, and collaborating on recitals with her husband, composer and keyboardist Collin Whitfield.