Nancy King

Dr. Nancy King is Professor and Chair of the Department of Music at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and Artistic Director of Opera Wilmington. A versatile performer, scholar, and administrator, she combines artistry with academic leadership and a commitment to community engagement.

King collaborates extensively with guitarist Robert Nathanson as part of Duo Sureño, with whom she tours internationally and records contemporary chamber music. Her discography includes Duo Sureño (2026), Continuum (2023), Waking the Sparrows (2018), and At the Edge of the Body’s Night (2010). As a concert soloist, King has appeared in Handel’s Messiah with the Toronto Classical Singers, Vaughan Williams’s Serenade to Music at the Oregon Bach Festival, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Canteloube’s Chants d’Auvergne, and Poulenc’s Gloria with the Wilmington Symphony. Her operatic repertoire includes Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), Hannah Glawari (The Merry Widow), Cunegonde (Candide), and Rosalinda (Die Fledermaus). From 1998 to 2004 she was a member of the Grammy Award–winning Oregon Bach Festival Choir under Helmuth Rilling.

At UNCW, King leads the vocal studies program, mentoring undergraduate singers who have advanced to graduate study and professional careers. She has expanded community engagement by producing professional opera and musical theatre productions that connect the university with the regional arts community. As Artistic Director of Opera Wilmington, King has staged acclaimed productions of Mozart, Puccini, Strauss, and others, while creating opportunities for regional artists and building audiences through educational outreach initiatives.

Education

D.M.A. in Voice Performance, University of Minnesota
Opera Diploma, Longy School of Music
M.M. in Voice Performance, Boston University
B.M. in Voice Performance, University of Western Ontario