With a growing number of professional residencies in the United States and Europe, Morgan Hunkele is internationally active as a pianist, vocal coach, and conductor. Her production credits include Principal Pianist and Vocal Coach for Carmen and A Little Night Music at Indianapolis Opera, Assistant Music Director and Repetiteur for Heidi at the Walensee-Bühne, Music Director and Pianist for Frida Kahlo and the Bravest Girl in the World at Virginia Opera, and Associate Conductor for Yardbird at Indianapolis Opera. Additionally, she has received collaborative-piano and conducting fellowships from the Lyric Opera Studio of Weimar (where she played and conducted Le nozze di Figaro and Die Zauberflöte), the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, and Musiktheater Bavaria.
While in residence at Virginia Opera and Indianapolis Opera, Ms. Hunkele served as the primary coach for the Resident Artists, and performed frequently throughout both respective regions. In addition to coaching the cast and playing for rehearsals at the Walensee-Bühne, Ms. Hunkele conducted performances and prepared the chorus. She has enjoyed collaborating with and assisting conductors Clinton Smith (Associate Conductor, The Atlanta Opera), Gaudens Bieri (Music Director, Theater Lüneburg), and Olaf Storbeck (Faculty, Musikhochschule Zürich), among others. While based in Indianapolis, she had the privilege of regularly coaching soprano Angela Brown.
Ms. Hunkele began working as a staff vocal pianist at Wake Forest University during her second year of undergraduate studies at UNCSA. She received early acclaim in competitions while a student of Dmitri Shteinberg, including the Ronald Sachs International Music Competition, Charlotte Steinway Piano Competition, and MTNA competitions, among others. Frequent performances in North Carolina include appearances as a concerto soloist with the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra, a returning guest artist of the North Carolina Bach Festival, a featured pianist with the Winston-Salem Festival Ballet, and a guest artist of the Music for a Great Space concert series in Greensboro.
Ms. Hunkele twice received the Chancellor’s Excellence Award from UNCSA, where she earned her high-school diploma, BM and minor in German Studies. Additionally, she holds an MM as a full-scholarship recipient from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She received further training from Meadowmount School of Music, Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, Brevard Music Center, Rebecca Penneys Piano
Festival, Baltimore International Piano Festival, Bowdoin International Music Festival, and Vivace International Music Festival.