The Jessye Norman School of the Arts is pleased to welcome Operatic Lyric Coloratura Soprano and Voice Instructor, Dr. Díana Thompson-Brewer, to our music [team/faculty].

Dr. Thompson-Brewer is a native of Augusta, Georgia as well as an alumna of the programs at John S. Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School and Augusta University where she received her Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance in 2007. Díana received her Master of Music degree, also in Voice, at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2009, and since then has performed in operas and sacred works throughout the east coast and abroad. In addition to per- forming, Díana founded and taught via her own private voice studio, which was the largest and most prominent voice stu- dio in Alamance County in North Carolina from its inception in 2009 until she and her husband moved to middle Georgia in 2016. Díana recently completed her Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Georgia while continuing to teach privately and perform professionally. Per her request to be a part of her duties associated with her Presidential Graduate Fellow- ship via UGA, she also taught UGA undergraduate Music Majors – those with a concentration in voice, music minors, and instrumentalists studying voice for their degree requirement.

As an operatic soprano – going by her professional (and maiden) name, Díana Thompson – she is lauded for her “aplomb and sparkling” vocal pyrotechnics and her nuanced character portrayals. Díana made her professional operatic debut in the role of Adele in Strauss II's Die Fledermaus, and since then, she has amassed an array of soprano roles that range from the pinnacle of coloratura roles, the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor to the fiercest queen of all opera, Queen of the Night in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. Other operatic credits include Zerbinetta from Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos, Su- sanna in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Musetta in Puccini's La bohème, Miss Silverpeal in Mozart's Die Schauspieldirektor, Sister Genevieve in Puccini's Suor Angelica, Puccini’s Yvette/Georgette in La rondine, Beth & Amy in Mark Adamo's Little Women, Millie in Libby Larsen's Picnic, Belinda in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Vi in Gershwin's Blue Monday, and Mrs. McDowell in Hailstork's Rise for Freedom.

Díana made her international debut in Geneva, Switzerland with L'Orchestre de Chambre de Genève and has sung in the U.S. throughout the east coast and more including New York City, New Hampshire, Vermont, Florida, the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Hawaii. She has been a soprano soloist in Orff’s Carmina Burana, Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s Cantata 4, Haydn’s Mass in Time of War, Vivaldi’s Magnificat, excerpts from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, and Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy. Díana also made her Musical Theatre debut in the role of Sarah from Flaherty’s iconic musi- cal Ragtime.

Díana continues to perform professionally as well as teach via her private voice studio and through JNSA. She is the proud daughter of two retired Army Veterans – her late father, Reverend James E. Thompson, and her mother, Wacharee Thompson. She lives in the greater Augusta area with her husband, James A. Brewer III – the Director of Bands at John S. Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School, and their newest addition, daughter Lillian Brewer.

The Mission of the Jessye Norman School of the Arts is to develop students to become creative, caring, visionary, re- sponsible citizens through the transformative power of the arts.

If you would like learn more about Dr. Díana Thompson-Brewer, please visit the Private Music Lessons section of our website at www.JessyeNormanSchool.org or her professional website at www.DianaDarleneThompson.com.

If you would like further information about the Jessye Norman School of The Arts, please email Gary Dennis [email protected] or call (706) 814-0665.