About Erin

Noted for her golden, lyric line and “hilarious acting and excellent timing” (Great Lakes Bay Reviewers Circle), soprano Erin Whitfield is equally comfortable in the worlds of opera and musical theater. Erin is an active performer around Michigan’s Great Lakes Bay region and beyond, frequently on the concert stage or in recital with her husband Collin at area churches. Some of her recent performances include Mary Magdalene in the Lamb of God oratorio in February 2025, as a featured soloist with NOEL: Experience Christmas in December 2024, and the recital - “Romantic Inspirations - From Schubert to Franck” with Collin at the First Presbyterian Church of Flint in June 2024.

Favorite roles Erin has performed include Amalia (She Loves Me), Nettie (Carousel), Musetta (La Boheme), Despina (Cosi fan tutte), and Laurey Williams (Oklahoma), among many others. She “shone” and “eschew[ed] type” (GLBRC) as Judy Steinberg in the Great Lakes Bay regional premiere of It Shoulda Been You at the Pit & Balcony Theater in 2019.

Erin has performed with the Saginaw Choral Society as a chorister and featured soloist since 2018. Impactful experiences with the group include Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem in March of 2023, Barber’s “Knoxville: Summer of 1915” at the opening concert of the 2023-24 Museum Series, and “Alzheimer’s Stories” by Robert Cohen as the soprano soloist in 2022.

“[The Requiem] had some sophisticated and complex harmonies and a brief soprano solo, Pie Jesu… sang [sic] by Erin Whitfield. She did an excellent job.” - Mark DeWolf-Ott, Eye on the Arts

She and Collin have been featured in numerous church concert series throughout the region, including: First Presbyterian Church of Flint, FPC Bay City, FPC of Saginaw, FPC of Caro, United Church of Christ in Midland, and Memorial Presbyterian Church of Midland. Erin has also enjoyed serving as Vocal Director for Legally Blonde at Saginaw Valley State University, and Music Director for projects including Spelling Bee at the Saginaw Academy of Science & Art, Treasure Island presented by Delta College & Bay City Players, and Seussical and Honk! for the Midland Center for the Arts Youth Theatre program.

Erin is a Seattle-area native, where she was an Associate Chorus member with the Seattle Opera from 2015 to 2018. While with the chorus she performed in Nabucco, The Pearl Fishers, Maria Stuarda, The Flying Dutchman, Le Comte Ory, La Traviata, The Magic Flute, and Aida. Favorite operatic roles include Susanna (The Marriage of Figaro) and Musetta (La boheme), both presented by Operamuse. 

"Musetta and Marcello - the pairing of these two was a pleasure. Erin Whitfield was ... fun and the role was very well sung." ~ Singerreise Podcast

Erin completed her Master of Music degree at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, under the tutelage of Jane Randolph.  She graduated summa cum laude with her Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA.  She and Collin relocated to the Great Lakes Bay region from Seattle in the summer of 2018 for new employment and education opportunities.

In her time off-stage, Erin finds great fulfillment working with voice students of all ages, both as owner of Whitfield Voice Studio and as an Adjunct Voice Instructor at Saginaw Valley State University since fall of 2023. Her voice students have appeared at the Jimmy Awards (winner, 2024 Gretchen Shope), participate annually in events such as the Sutton Foster Musical Theater Awards, the local and national levels of the NATS adjudications (national winner 2023 for Upper High School Treble Musical Theater), state Solo & Ensemble contests, school and local theater productions, and present regular studio recitals. She also enjoys cooking, reading, traveling, and collaborating with her husband, composer and keyboardist Collin Whitfield.