Monica Hunter

Monica Griffin Hunter received the Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Michigan, the Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, and the Bachelor of Arts degree in music from Texas Wesleyan University, graduating magna cum laude.  She completed additional study at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria.  Her primary teachers include Joyce Farwell, Caroline Helton, and Noelle Woods, and she has enjoyed coaching sessions with David McDade, Richard Boldrey, Thomas Jaber, and Martin Katz.  Dr. Hunter has taught for the School of Music at Western Michigan University and at Grand Valley State University.  Most recently, she served as Senior Lecturer of Music and Director of Voice Studies at Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA from 2011-2021.

As a soprano soloist, Monica Griffin Hunter has been featured in Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang, Mozart’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Handel’s Messiah, J.S. Bach’s Magnificat, Rutter’s Requiem, Elfrida Andrée’s Swedish Mass #1, Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music, Poulenc’s Gloria, Tommasini’s Three Spanish Songs, Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, David Gillingham’s Lifesongs. and as Leonora in Beethoven’s Fidelio. Her operatic experience includes the roles of Michaela in Bizet’s famous opera Carmen, the Theory of Everything Suite by John David Earnest, the Mother in Hansel and Gretel, Contessa in Le Nozze di Figaro, Madame Lidoine in Dialogues of the Carmelites, and Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi.

Monica is active in the community and has served as a professional singer for churches in Houston, Ft. Worth, Detroit, Seattle, and Walla Walla, WA.  She was also invited to participate as a finalist in the 2005 Berlin International Opera Auditions in Germany, where she sang for thirty of the most prestigious opera houses in the world. 

Among Dr. Hunter’s distinctions and awards are two fellowships from Rice University and the prestigious Golden Shears Award from Texas Wesleyan University, where she was also named Music Major of the Year in 2000.  Her professional affiliations include membership in the National Association of the Teachers of Singing, Alpha Chi National Honor Society, and Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity for Women. 

Dr. Hunter loves sharing her gifts in the classroom, in the voice studio, and on the stage.  In March 2022, she was invited by the esteemed American Choral Composer, Morten Lauridsen, to perform his Six Duets for Mixed Voices and Piano in Chicago with renowned baritone, Jeremy Huw Williams for a weekend celebration of the composer’s works.  Other areas of interest include promoting performances of African American Spirituals and music by female composers.  Dr. Hunter recently moved to the Charlotte area with her husband and two sons and is excited to join the Voice faculty at UNC Charlotte.

B.A., Texas Wesleyan University; M.M., Rice University, and D.M.A., University of Michigan.