Abigail Nims
Abigail Nims (CU College of Music Associate Professor of Voice), mezzo soprano, has established herself as a musician of integrity and versatility, garnering praise for her performances of repertoire from the Baroque to contemporary premieres.
Acclaimed for her committed interpretations and tonal beauty in the concert repertoire, Nims has performed as soloist with renowned orchestras and festivals including the San Francisco Symphony, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, the São Paulo Symphony, Orquestra Sinfónica Nacional de México, Teatro Municipal, Santiago, Chile, Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, Boston Baroque, the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park (FL), the Indianapolis Symphony, the Louisiana Philharmonic and the Masterworks Choir and Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. In Colorado, Nims and has appeared as soloist with the Colorado Symphony, the Colorado Music Festival, the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, the Boulder Philharmonic, the Colorado MahlerFest, and is a regular soloist with the Colorado Bach Ensemble.
On the opera stage, Nims has appeared in leading roles with companies throughout the United States and abroad including Wexford Festival Opera, New York City Opera, Atlanta Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Florentine Opera, Gotham Chamber Opera, Opera Omaha, New Jersey Opera, Opera Grand Rapids, the Princeton Festival, Opera Delaware and Opera North.
Her recordings include the role of Melanto in Boston Baroque’s Grammy-nominated Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria (Linn Records, 2015), the role of Veruca Salt in The Golden Ticket with Atlanta Opera (Albany Records, 2013), and Martin Bresnick’s song cycle “Falling” on the composer’s album Every Thing Must Go (Albany Records, 2011).
Nims joined the voice faculty at the University of Colorado Boulder in 2013. Her students have performed with prestigious organizations including LA Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, San Francisco Opera's Merola Program, Central City Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Virginia Opera, Ravinia's Steans Institute, Cincinnati Symphony, SongFest, Vancouver International Song Institute and CoOPERAtive. They have received awards from the Richard Tucker Foundation, the Loren L. Zachary Competition, Lotte Lenya Competition, the New York Oratorio Society Competition, the Denver Lyric Opera Competition, the Grand Rapids Bach Competition and the National Association of Teachers of Singing (National, Regional, and District Auditions). Prior to joining the faculty of CU Boulder, Nims taught voice at the University of California, Berkeley and at Yale University.
Originally from Delaware, Ohio, Nims holds degrees from Yale School of Music, Westminster Choir College and Ohio Wesleyan University. She has received awards from distinguished foundations and institutions including the Fritz and Lavinia Jensen Foundation Competition, Santa Fe Opera, the Carmel Bach Festival, Yale School of Music and the American Bach Society/Bach Choir of Bethlehem Competition. She was an Apprentice Singer at Santa Fe Opera for two summers, a Virginia B. Adams Fellow at the Carmel Bach Festival and a young artist at Opera North.