DAPHNE BUAN

Daphne Buan, soprano, is a passionate storyteller with a dedication to sharing the stories of yesterday and today with audiences around the world. She is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Vocal Performance at Bard College Conservatory of Music, studying under Lorraine Nubar. 

 

An Eastman School of Music alumna, Buan graduated in the spring of 2025 after studying under Kathryn Cowdrick. Her credits with Eastman Opera Theatre included; Ainadamar (Nuria), Dido and Aeneas (Belinda), We’ve Got Our Eye On You (Enyo cover), and Alcina (Morgana cover). Her concert work at Eastman was diverse, including many performances with Eastman’s early music ensemble Collegium Musicum, Crumb’s Ancient Voices of Children, Handel’s The Messiah, and Vivaldi’s Gloria. Buan concluded her time at Eastman performing a recital titled “Sonnets” which captured the spirit of transition and change through featured works by Debussy, Handel, Heggie, Hoiby, Shostakovich, Sondheim, and Strauss. 

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A current member of the Bard College Conservatory of Music Graduate Vocal Arts Program, Buan appeared in the conservatory's past season as a soloist in the annual Kurtág Festival singing In Memory of a Winter Evening, the gender swapped production of Gianna Schicchi (Nella), a scene from Guilio Cesare (Cleopatra), the chorus of Amelia al Ballo, as well as the revival of Rumshinsky's Khantshe in Amerike at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research in Manhattan. Buan also sang Beethoven's ninth symphony and Tun Dan's Nine for the conservatory's anniversary celebration at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center and appeared in a masterclass with Pierre Vallet singing a scene from Carmen (Michaela).

 

Other opera credits include Hansel und Gretel (Gretel), Gianni Schicci (Lauretta), and Die Zauberflöte (Pamina) at Queens Summer Vocal Institute, Cosi Fan Tutte (Despina), Lilacs and Lillies (Aneta) at Vienna Summer Music Festival, and For Life (Katy) at Baldwin Wallace Vocal Performance and Cleveland Opera. Buan has also had the pleasure of performing in many scenes programs showcasing operas such as Les Contes d’Hoffman (Guilietta) at Rochester Summer Opera, Die Zauberflöte (Pamina) at Queens Summer Vocal Institute, La Serva Padrona (Serpina), Il Matrimonio Segreto (Carolina) at Si Parla, Si Canta in Italy, Hänsel und Gretel (Gretel), and Le Nozze di Figaro (Susanna) at Brevard Summer Music Institute. 

 

Off the operatic stage, Buan has had the fortune of winning many accolades through her participation in both local and national competitions. She most recently won second places in the University Division of Classical Singer’s 2025 Vocal Competition. 

 

This summer Buan will attended The Seagle Festival where she will appear as Despina in Cosi Fan Tutte, Sister Lillianne in Dead Man Walking, the choruses of H.M.S Pinafore and The Sound of Music, and as a soloist in the Old Friends and New Concert.