Biography
Leslie Sandefur's rich and lyric soprano voice has enchanted audiences throughout the United States and abroad. A native of Sacramento, Ms. Sandefur has sung with numerous opera companies and festivals including San Francisco Opera, Nevada Opera, Cinnabar Opera, Stern Grove Festival, Berkeley Opera, Sacramento Opera, Opera San Jose, Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, Pocket Opera, Lyric Theatre of San Jose, Bear Valley Music Festival, Golden Gate Opera, Townsend Opera Players, and the Lamplighters of San Francisco. Notable roles include Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), Fiordiligi (Cosi fan Tutte), Mistress Ford (Merry Wives of Windsor), Mimí (La Bohème), Magda (La Rondine) and the title roles in Massenet's Cendrillon, and Scott Joplin's Treemonisha.
Ms. Sandefur won 1st place in the Leontyne Price National Vocal Competition and made her debut at Carnegie Hall, shortly after. She is the winner of numerous other competitions including the Pacific Musical Society Vocal Award of a full scholarship to study opera at Centro Studi Italiani, in Urbania, Italy. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Nevada and Master of Music degree from CSU Sacramento. She has also completed graduate work in opera at New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. Ms. Sandefur is a student of Sheri Greenawald.