Soprano Desirée Earl Soteres, a native of Chattanooga, Tennessee, began her professional career as an apprentice with the Portland Opera in Oregon. Since then she has appeared with opera companies and orchestras throughout the United States and abroad. On May 1st 2009, Ms. Soteres will be singing in the Hops and Opera concert at Chattanooga’s CreateHere.  In October 2009, she will be guest soloist with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Orchestra under the baton of Jooyong Ahn and in November she will be singing the role of Pamela in the new opera TOOWHOPERA by composer Sorrel Hays.            Most recently she was a guest soloist with the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra in their Home for the Holidays concert under the baton of Robert Bernhardt and was soprano soloist with the Chattanooga Bach Choir in Haydn’s Theresa Mass conducted by David Long.  She also performed Rosa Bud in The Mystery of Edwin Drood with the Chattanooga Theatre Center. Ms. Soteres has performed Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte with West Bay Opera, Stockton Opera and Opera San José. She has sung the roles of Despina in Così fan tutte with Mission City Opera, Blonde in Abduction from the Seraglio and Yvette in La Rondine with Pocket Opera, Cunegonde in Candide in with Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., and Pamina in The Magic Flute with Opera Nova. Other roles include Abigail in The Crucible, Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Madame Herz in The Impresario, Lucy in Threepenny Opera and Monica in The Medium. Ms. Soteres was a featured performer in a series of concerts in Europe, South America, and Australia aboard Cunard’s Vistafjord and Royal Viking Sun. As a coloratura soprano, Ms. Soteres is a frequent guest vocalist and recitalist. She was named a world finalist in the Luciano Pavarotti International Voice Competition, a regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, a semi-finalist in the Jenny Lind Competition and a regional winner in the MacAllister Competition. Ms. Soteres received her MM in vocal performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and has also studied in Austria and has served as an Artist-in-Residence at the Portland Opera in Oregon.