Soprano Rachel Gilliam is a 2nd year Master of Music in Opera Performance graduate student at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. Gilliam is currently employed at the university as a graduate teaching assistant until 2026, and is also employed at the First Presbyterian Church of Norman as a choir member and section leader. Her roles at the University of Oklahoma include Euridice in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice, Valencienne in Lehar’s The Merry Widow, Rita in Deux Hommes et une Femme, and Galatea in Acis and Galatea as well as the Chorus for Susannah by Floyd. Her other roles include her debut for Painted Sky Opera as Lucia (cover), Chorus member, and Fantasma (non-singing) in Lucia di Lammermoor and performed with The Garvin County Choral Society as Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute. She has excelled in competitions in the US and internationally, becoming a finalist in the Meistersinger Competition in Graz, Austria with the American Institute of Musical Studies. Her silvery voice has been described as full of expression, richness, and implements a clarity of tone “like a laser-beam”.