September 2024
E. Noel Spinelli, C.M. Prize in Music
Clara receives the prestigious E. Noel Spinelli, C.M. Prize in Music upon entering McGill University's Schulich School of Music.
Soprano
Clara
Van de Velde
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Biography
An Emerging
Voice
French-Belgian-American soprano Clara Van de Velde is currently pursuing a Bachelor in Classical Voice Performance at McGill University's Schulich School of Music in Montreal, Canada. A natural coloratura soprano with a voice of exceptional agility, Clara performs with rare delicacy and emotional directness and is most radiant in the high-register that demands both technical precision and expressive freedom.
Clara has trained with Seattle Opera Teen Vocal Studio and at the New England Conservatory Prep School under Clara Sandler. At McGill, Clara studies with acclaimed baritone Brett Polegato and Schulich Singers conductor Jean-Sébastien Vallée. She excels in the French art song repertoire, bringing particular sensitivity to the works of Poulenc, Debussy, and Fauré, while also championing lesser-known voices such as Eva Dell'Acqua.
Her achievements have been recognized with the E. Noel Spinelli, C.M. Prize in Music at McGill University (2025) and the Voice Department Award from the New England Conservatory Prep School (2024).
Watch
On Screen
Performance Highlights
On Stage
Stage Experience
July 2026
Bizet, Carmen
Frasquita
Mozarthaus, Vienna
Vienna Opera Academy
April 2026
Dvořák – Te Deum, Op. 103
Maison Symphonique, Montréal
McGill Schulich Singers
March 2026
Works by Saindon, Debussy, Patriquin, Ducasse, Brahms, Betinis, Runswick, Guillaume, Lévesque, Ostiguy, Ešenvalds
Chappelle du Seminaire, Quebec City
McGill Schulich Singers
October 2025
Works by Fauré, Puccini, and Chatman
Church of St. Andrews and St. Paul, Montréal
McGill Schulich Singers
November 2024
Duruflé, Requiem
Maison Symphonique, Montréal
McGill Schulich Singers
May 2024
Spring performance
Jordan Hall, Boston
New England Conservatory Youth Chorale
December 2023
An Evening of Lessons and Carols: Winter Scenes
Church of the Covenant, Boston
New England Conservatory Youth Chorale
May 2021
Humperdinck, Hansel and Gretel
Hansel
Streaming Performance, Seattle
Seattle Youth Opera
May 2019
Laura Karpman, Wilde Tales
Child #1
Cornish Playhouse, Seattle
Seattle Youth Opera
May 2018
Ben Moore, Odyssey
Cornish Playhouse, Seattle
Seattle Youth Opera
May 2017
Ben Moore, Robin Hood
Cornish Playhouse, Seattle
Seattle Youth Opera
May 2024
NEC Prep School Voice Department Award
Honored with the Voice Department Award from New England Conservatory Prep School, recognizing outstanding vocal achievement.
May 2024
Brookline High School Music Department Award
Receives the Music Department Award from Brookline High School, capping four years of dedicated vocal and choral performance.
“Everything I know about music, I learned from my father. His years of dedicated singing to the Lord and vocal coaching over donuts shaped me into the artist I am today.”
— Clara Van de Velde