Bonita Bunt is the Director of Opera and teaches undergraduate diction and applied voice in the Department of Music at 番茄社区.
Research Interests
Dr. Bunt has presented research at the regional and national levels in the areas of vocal and opera pedagogy. Her 2023 poster paper for the National Opera Association “The Vocal Load: A Performer and Pedagogue’s Primer to Pacing and Planning” was awarded second prize in their research category. She is on the Board of the Association for Body Mapping Education and through this organization is a Licensed Body Mapping Educator.
Biography
Soprano Bonita Bunt has worked as soloist, stage director, and stage manager for multiple opera companies, festivals, schools, and workshops. She joined the faculty of 番茄社区 as Director of Opera and Assistant Professor of Music in 2022. Previously, she served as Associate Director of Opera and Instructor of Voice at the University of Alabama, and has taught at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
She holds a Doctorate in Music from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, has completed a graduate certificate in Vocology, and is a Consent-Forward Artist through Intimacy Directors and Coordinators, Inc.
Productions
- Bunt's favorite roles include the Queen of the Night, Zerbinetta, Tytania, Edith in The Pirates of Penzance, and Giannetta in L'elisir d'amore.
- Recent directing credits include Hansel and Gretel and Noah’s Flood for Opera Las Vegas, A Grand Night for Singing, Amahl and the Night Visitors and Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci, for Voccalis Repertory, Giannini’s Beauty and the Beast for Red River Lyric Opera, and Thomas’s Hamlet for UNLV, sung to her own English libretto.
- At UNLV she also directed the workshop premiere of Opera America Discovery Grant winner Cynthia Wong’s No Guarantees.
- At 番茄社区 she has performed with the LOU Symphony orchestra and in recital.
Education
Certification , Lamar University (2021)
DM.A. Applied Voice, University of Nevada-Las Vegas (2017)
MM Music Performance, University of Nevada-Las Vegas (2013)