Today we’d like to introduce you to Juliet Hollifield.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was born and raised on a small cattle ranch in Horse Prairie, Montana, which was a very small and isolated place- about 50 miles to the nearest gas station. My parents cared deeply about myself and my sister being able to have artistic outlets, so I started playing the flute when I turned 5, and played through high school, so I started out as an instrumentalist first!
I started taking voice lessons and singing in the choir when I entered high school, and that decided my fate. I auditioned for a few music schools, and ultimately ended up going to Central Washington University in Washington state and receiving a Bachelor of Music with emphasis in Vocal Performance.
After graduating with my degree, I lived in Tacoma, WA for 5 years where I worked heavily as an opera and musical theatre singer in the Seattle area and then lived in Chicago for 2 years, where I also worked as an opera and musical theatre singer and an Early Childhood Music Teacher
I have been a working singer for almost 10 years now and have been lucky enough to appear as Texas in Cabaret!, Sonja in Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812 at the Greenhouse Cabaret, Usherette in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Regina Koontz in Rock of Ages, Mabel in Pirates of Penzance, El Gato in El Gato con Botas, Dawn in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Papagena in The Magic Flute, Anne Egerman in A Little Night Music, and Liesl von Trapp in The Sound of Music. Other favorite roles include Snoopy in You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown, Margot in Legally Blonde, and Heather McNamara in Heathers! The Musical.
I have also been pleased to perform with OperaBend, Eugene Opera, Tacoma Opera, Puget Sound Concert Opera, the Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society, Opera on Tap Chicago, and Sinfonietta Bel Canto, as well as singing with The Chicago Carolers and the Dickens Carolers in Seattle during five holiday seasons. You can also see me this spring singing Barbarina in Le Nozze di Figaro with OperaBend!
I also serve as the Oregon District Membership Director for the National Association of Teachers of Singing, as well as working as the Donor Liaison and Event Coordinator for the Cascade School of Music, and I teach for them part-time as well.
I also recently graduated with my Masters Certificate in Fundraising Management from Boston University, as well starting Juliet Hollifield Voice Studio, my own private voice studio in Bend, in 2025. I just recently celebrated my first year in business and am so pleased to have a full studio of talented and lovely students of all ages.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has definitely been a very challenging road at times! Performing is never an easy job, no matter what genre you specialize in, and the musical theater and opera worlds are both extremely competitive and also grossly underfunded. The market for treble voices is especially difficult, with a typical audition seeing about 400 soprano voices to roughly 45 bass voices- you can do the math here.
I have definitely received more rejections than offers in my career so far, and I will most likely continue to for the rest of my career- I would say statistically that for every gig I have booked I have gotten at least 10 rejections, if not more. It has been very difficult at times to fight feelings of unworthiness and depression because the industry is so tough.
I have always tried to let myself grieve an opportunity that I was not offered, but to also be proud of myself and glad that I at least had the courage to keep trying.
In teaching, I have also found a lot of joy and fulfillment in encouraging my students no matter what their talent level- ultimately singing is about having courage, finding joy and feeling strength in your own voice, and that is what I want my students to walk away with after every lesson.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As you already saw in some of my other answers, I have done a lot in my career, but I specialize in opera and musical theatre. My voice type is that of a lyric coloratura soprano, so I really love to sing operetta, bel canto style opera, and Golden Age musical theatre, but I love a good contemporary musical as much as the next singer.
I am known for being comic relief characters as well as playing children or teenagers! I have yet to play a character who is canonically over 18 years old.
I think as a teacher my students might describe me as being slightly ridiculous and very easy to laugh with, but still someone who asks them to work hard and take pride in working hard. I focus a lot on creating healthy technique for YOUR body- everyone’s voice is different and tailoring lessons to each person’s voice and creating a safe space for them to make mistakes while also allowing them to grow from those is extremely important to me.
I am most proud of my work ethic and my preparedness – I always want to be the most prepared person in the room and to have my music learned quickly and efficiently and be able to sing it extremely well. I love the work of singing and the work of practicing- it feels like home to me and I am so lucky to be able to do it every day.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
My favorite childhood memories would definitely be riding horses with my sister on the ranch in Montana. I had a big bay horse named Jake and she had a white horse called Dodger that we would take out into the pastures and gallop around- afterwards we would curl up on the couch with our books and read together. We were huge bookworms and still are!
Pricing:
- 1 Hour Lesson- $50
- 45 Min Lesson – $45
- $30 Min Lesson – $30
Contact Info:
- Website: https://juliethollifield.com/
- Instagram: juliethollifieldvoicestudio
