Mezzo-soprano Andrea McGaugh is a freelance singer based in Rochester, NY. An advocate for collaborative music-making and authentic storytelling in all its forms, Andrea is a dedicated concert soloist, stage performer, recitalist, and ensemble singer. She has previously taught on the voice faculties of Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Rochester Academy of Music and Arts, the Rochester Musical Theatre Academy, and Webster Central Schools. As a teacher, she is passionate about helping students develop their unique voice and find freedom in singing. She looks forward to joining the ECMS community!
Andrea’s love for oratorio and choral music has led to many engagements across Western New York. Recent performances include Bach’s Mass in B Minor, St. John Passion, and St. Matthew Passion (Voices); Duruflé’s Requiem (SUNY Geneseo); Brahms’ Alto Rhapsody (Eastman Philharmonia); Handel’s Messiah (Buffalo Philharmonic); and Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Eastman Philharmonia) as winner of the Eastman Voice Concerto Competition. She has enjoyed choral residencies with the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Spire Chamber Ensemble, and Eastman Summer Workshops, and she regularly performs with Rochester choirs Voices, First Inversion, Musica Spei, Scivias Medieval Ensemble, and the Christ Church Schola Cantorum.
During the academic year, Andrea serves as the choral librarian for the Eastman Ensembles Library, overseeing the school’s choral activities behind the scenes. She is also the operations manager and co-founder of Solarium Vocal Ensemble, a Rochester-based choral initiative premiering in December 2026 with a full performance of Handel’s Messiah.
Known for her quick wit, compelling acting, and attention to detail, Andrea is committed to bringing multifarious characters to life on the stage and in the recital hall. Her passion for art song has led to numerous engagements throughout the United States, including recitals of George Crumb’s Apparition, Peter Lieberson’s Rilke Songs, Gabriel Fauré’s La chanson d’Ève, and Dominick Argento’s From the Diary of Virginia Woolf with pianist Gregory Smith, and residencies with Source Song Festival, SongFest, and Southeastern Young Artists.
Equally at home in comedic opera and classic musical theatre, Andrea has performed with Blackfriars Theatre in concert productions of The Music Man (Mrs. Paroo) and The Light in the Piazza (Margaret Johnson) and was a 2024 Resident Young Artist with Ohio Light Opera. Favorite stage roles include The Duchess of Plaza-toro in The Gondoliers, Mistress Quickly in Falstaff, Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance, Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, Jack’s Mother in Into the Woods, and Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd.
Andrea holds a BM in Voice Performance and Music Education, an MM in Vocal Performance and Literature, and an Arts Leadership Certificate from the Eastman School of Music, where she studied voice with Kathryn Cowdrick and Jan Opalach.
In addition to singing, Andrea is an avocational harpist and enjoys dipping her pedal-changing toes into the world of orchestral repertoire as a member of the Penfield Symphony Orchestra. In her free time, Andrea enjoys baking, watching football (go Bills!), settling Catan, and spending time with friends and family.