BIO

Praised for her “wonderfully rich and expressive voice” (DC Theater Scene), lyric mezzo-soprano Tanya Ruth Langlois began her musical studies at the age of seven with the piano and cello, but upon acceptance to the Tanglewood Institute’s Young Artists Vocal Program at the age of seventeen, she fell in love with vocal repertoire and has been singing ever since.

On the operatic stage, Tanya’s favorite roles performed include the title role in Bizet’s Carmen, Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro, Mrs. Grose in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, and Hermia in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. An avid advocate of new music, Tanya has been featured in many premieres, including A Fire in Water at the Capital Fringe Festival, Michael Oberhauser’s Shakespearean opera Lear, and the Washington D.C. premiere of David Lang’s Pulitzer-prize winning piece The Little Match Girl Passion.

An in-demand oratorio soloist, Tanya has collaborated across the D.C. region with ensembles including the Reston Chorale, Loudoun Chorale, Bach in Baltimore, Central Maryland Chorale, DC Strings Workshop, and in many concerts at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. Her solo performances have included Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Corigliano’s Fern Hill, John Adams’s Grand Pianola Music, Berio’s Sinfonia, Saint-Saëns’s Gloria, Charpentier’s Messe de Minuit, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Schubert’s Mass in Bb, and numerous Bach cantatas. For five years, she also served as the regular alto soloist in the professional quartet of singers at Saint Luke’s Anglican Church.

An award-winning recitalist, Tanya is a passionate interpreter of the works of Gustav Mahler and regularly presents solo recital programs featuring his song cycles. She has been featured as a guest artist on the Ward Virts Concert Series of Southern Maryland, the Music with the Angels Concert Series at the Swedenborg Center, and for numerous church concert series including A Little Night Music at Burke Presbyterian, the ROOL series at Resurrection of our Lord Catholic Church, and the Soundings Series in Chevy Chase. Most recently, she has toured her recital programs Fairy Tales and Children’s Songs and Voices of America at venues across the DMV region.

When not on stage, Tanya serves as Director of Music Ministries at Messiah United Methodist Church. Tanya holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in voice from the University of Maryland, where she studied with soprano Carmen Balthrop. A multi-faceted musician, Tanya minored in piano performance and continued to play cello with her string quartet during her time at UMD. She went on to earn her Colleague Certification from the American Guild of Organists in 2018 and her Graduate Diploma in Church Music from Shenandoah University in 2019. Tanya lives in Virginia with her husband, pianist Michael Langlois, with whom she frequently appears in recital.