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The American mezzo-soprano, Leyly Nimtaj Bagherof, was born to German mother and Iranian father who are not “musically inclined in the slightest,” but they did pass along the ability to speak fluent German and Farsi as well as unconditional support for Leyly to do all she has ever wanted to do. She obtained her Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Furman University (2018). Getting scoped was the price she was willing to pay to learn more about a voice box able to produce a mezzo-soprano so beautiful she is one of the few whose dreams of being a professional singer could actually come true. That talent has taken her all over the world and helped land significant roles in Furman Lyric Theatre’s annual productions, directed by mentor Grant Knox, every year. She obtained her Master of Music degree in Voice Performance & Literature from Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester (2018-May 2020). She plans to earn a doctor of musical arts with a focus on the physiology of singing. She finished her Master degree right when COVID started, so she was actually planning on staying up in Rochester and starting a doctoral degree, but then COVID was really taking off, and so she decided she was going to come back and put a pause on that degree because she did not want to do it online. She returned in 2020 to Greenville and opened Sun and Soil Plant Parlor, a boutique dedicated to houseplants, in 2021. |
