With a voice described as “very mature [with] sensitive artistic impulses rare in such a young artist” (Wolf Trap Opera Studio), Jasmine’s goal is to be successful on the stage in multiple genres. Her desire to achieve this goal is fueled by her love for the power of music and her wish to bring a greater awareness of classical music to the younger generation, particularly African-American youth. Jasmine is committed to leveraging her God-given talents and gifts to foster understanding and appreciation of the classical genre.

A recent graduate of the Chicago College of Performing Arts, where she was awarded a Bachelors of Music Degree in Vocal Performance, Jasmine received her training under the tutelage of soprano, Jonita Lattimore. Her Soprano repertoire has developed to include Italian, English, German and French art songs, arias, spirituals, gospel, and contemporary music from show tunes to R&B. Her musical education opportunities have included coveted opportunities to participate in Master Classes with renowned opera diva Denyce Graves and actor, playwright, composer, and concert pianist Hershey Felder. Jasmine is now pursuing a Masters degree in Voice at the Manhattan School of Music, studying under renowned mezzo-soprano, Mignon Dunn.

A resident of Reston, VA, since 1998, Jasmine attended the metro Washington, DC’s only pre-professional performing and visual arts high school, Duke Ellington School of the Arts, where she graduated as the Most Outstanding Vocalist and academically ranked 18th in the Top 20 of her class. At Ellington she was the first ever sophomore to sing the lead role of “Mother” in the Christmas Opera Amahl and the Night Visitors and performed the role of “Serena” in Porgy and Bess in her senior year. Jasmine was a four-year member of the world-renowned Ellington Show Choir which allowed her to participate in cultural exchange tours of Antigua (2003) and China (2005). She was a member of the WPAS' Children of the Gospel Mass Choir from the ages of 9 to 16.

In recognition of her academic and artistic achievements Jasmine was a 2004 recipient of the National Society of Arts and Letters Award for Excellence in the Arts, a 2005 recipient of the coveted Washington Post Music and Dance Scholarship and an NAACP ACT-SO Gold Medal Winner in Classical Voice in Washington, DC.

Jasmine travelled to Urbania, Italy in 2007 to take part in the Italian Operatic Experience. Aspiring young opera singers from across the U.S. audition and are selected to travel to the beautiful town of Urbania in central Italy’s Marche Region where they undergo intensive Italian lessons and musical coaching by some of the top American music professors. At the end of the program, Jasmine participated in a fully‐staged opera, Puccini’s La Bohème, and opera scenes with full orchestra in the historic Bramante Theater. She also performed scenes for the roles of Rita in Donizetti’s Rita and Mrs. Meg Page in Verdi’s Falstaff.

Jasmine’s perseverance is fueled by her conviction that God has blessed her with a gift that she in turn is responsible for fostering and sharing — ‘to whom much is given, much is expected in return.’

Jasmine Muhammad, Soprano