Dr. Diana Thompson Brewer

Lyric Coloratura Soprano Díana Thompson-Brewer is lauded for her “aplomb and sparkling '' vocal pyrotechnics and her nuanced character portrayals. Díana appeared in the role of Adele in Strauss II's Die Fledermaus for her professional debut in 2011, and she has since amassed an array of soprano roles ranging from the pinnacle of coloratura sopranos, Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor, to the fiercest queen of all opera, Queen of the Night in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. Other operatic credits include Eden in the world premiere of Galaxies in Her Eyes by Mark Weiser, Musetta in Puccini's La bohème, Zerbinetta from Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos, Susanna in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Miss Silverpeal in Mozart's Die Schauspieldirektor, Beth & Amy in Mark Adamo's Little Women, Mrs. McDowell in Hailstork's Rise for Freedom, and more. 

Díana made her international debut in 2017 in Geneva, Switzerland with L'Orchestre de Chambre de Genève singing the role of Vi in Gershwin's Blue Monday. She has also performed in opera houses and concert halls in New York City, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Vermont, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi.  In addition to opera, Díana has also been a soprano soloist in various oratorio and cantata repertoire to include Haydn’s The Creation, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s Cantata 4, Haydn’s Mass in Time of War, Vivaldi’s Magnificat, and Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy. Díana also made her Musical Theatre debut in 2015 as Sarah in Flaherty’s iconic work, Ragtime. 

  This past Spring Díana made two role and house debuts singing the leading soprano, Magda, in Puccini’s La rondine with Mobile Opera in Alabama as well as Clara in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess with NC Opera in North Carolina. She was also the soprano soloist in Carmina Burana with the Georgia Symphony Orchestra in Kennesaw, GA.  

This coming September, Díana and composer-pianist, Christopher Cooley, will tour the recital "A Woman's Love and Life" to several colleges, performing the canonic song cycle Frauenliebe und Leben by Schumann and the new work, at first sight composed by Christopher Cooley with text written by poet, Ashley Lumpkin (Augusta native). Díana will end her tours here at Augusta University with both composer and poet in residence for a Q&A after the recital. October and November, Díana will perform Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, a prose poem written by James Agee set for soprano and orchestra, with the USC Symphony Orchestra at the Koger Center in Columbia, SC.   

In addition to a successful touring career, Díana also had a thriving voice studio via a partnership with the Jessye Norman School of the Arts in Augusta as well as past accolades for her teaching prowess. While pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts at The University of Georgia, she had a teaching studio alongside the four voice faculty, and she oversaw several voice recitals to include three degree recitals from her studio. Díana was also a guest voice teacher and clinician for the Georgia Military College Prep school in Milledgeville, GA. She created and ran DB Voice Studio for almost 7 years in North Carolina and taught up to 25 students a semester. Many of her past students attended notable summer music programs, and several went on to study voice at top undergraduate programs to include UNC School of the Arts, UNC Greensboro, UNC Chapel Hill, University of Kentucky, and Manhattan School of Music. Díana has given Masterclasses at Mercer University, Augusta University, Savannah State University, John S. Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School, GMC Prep, and Williams High School (NC).

Díana holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Georgia (Presidential Graduate Fellow), a Master of Music degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Augusta State University, all in Vocal Performance.