Introduction
Born in Montreal and raised in Michigan, Chérie L. Hughes has built a career that bridges the intimacy of chamber music with the grandeur of the concert stage.
An accomplished soprano performing throughout the United States and Mexico, Dr. Hughes brings warmth, scholarly depth, and artistic conviction to repertoire spanning four centuries — from Mozart and Schubert to contemporary Latin American composers. After fourteen years on the faculty of Seattle Pacific University, she now lives in Eugene, Oregon.
Musical Formation
Hughes's musical journey began at the piano before she turned to the violin in her youth — a path shaped by her mother, a professional musician. Voice studies commenced in high school with Jean Dice, then continued with the distinguished Dale Moore at Indiana University.
At Colgate University she studied as a liberal arts student influenced by violinist and chamber musician Laura Klugherz, immersing herself in violin, voice, German language and literature, classical Indian music, and theatre. It was at Colgate that she encountered the contemporary music scene through mentor Neva Pilgrim and deepened her understanding of chamber music as an art form.
The Pacific Duo
As a founding member of The Pacific Duo with guitarist Roberto Limón, Hughes forged a distinctive artistic identity. The ensemble toured Mexico extensively and was featured in recital at the Bellas Artes Manuel Ponce Chamber Hall in Mexico City.
While their repertoire included works by well-known composers such as de Falla, Argento, and Schubert, the duo were passionate advocates for lesser-known treasures and for newly commissioned works — particularly those of Mexican and Latin American composers. Engagements included concert tours sponsored by the Mexican government's Coordinación Nacional de Música y Ópera to Mexico City, Guanajuato, and Salamanca; appearances at the XI Festival de Guitarra Internacional del Noreste in Saltillo; and concerts at the Festival de Guitarra in Tijuana.
Recordings
The Pacific Duo's debut, On My People (2015, Origin Classical), was made possible through an Artists in Residency award with Seattle's Jack Straw Cultural Center and a grant from Seattle Pacific University. The album features Sephardic-inspired works by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Matilde Salvador alongside a commissioned piece by Samuel Zyman.
Poesía en una Canción (2019, Common Tone Records), with pianist Dainius Vaičekonis, is a collection of art songs from Latin America. L'amor Incert (2022, Common Tone Records) followed with songs by American composer Jonathan Leshnoff, Catalonian composer Xavier Turull, and Spanish composer Jesús Guridi.
Hughes also appears on Eventide (2012).
Chamber Collaborations
Beyond her work with Roberto Limón, Hughes has continued her passion for chamber music with a wide circle of collaborators: violinist Laura Klugherz, clarinetist John Bruce Yeh, and pianist Steve Heyman as a guest artist at the Chenango Summer MusicFest; Brian Chin and Ben Thomas on the premiere of Tom Baker's Songs of Sleep and Dreams; the Seattle jazz orchestra SCRAPE; and many other musicians throughout the greater Seattle Puget Sound region.
Opera & Oratorio
While chamber music is her great passion, Dr. Hughes is also noted for her rich vocal color and dramatic sparkle in the operatic and oratorio repertoires. She recently appeared as the soloist and namesake in the World Premiere of Malcolm Halliday's cantata Emily Carr in San Miguel de Allende.
On the operatic stage, Hughes has performed principal roles including Musetta in Puccini's La bohème (Kitsap Opera), Gretel in Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel (Lyric Opera Northwest), and Valencienne in Lehár's The Merry Widow (Livermore Valley Opera). Her repertoire extends to Susanna in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, and Massenet's Manon.
Her oratorio work includes soprano soloist appearances in Handel's Messiah, Fauré's Requiem, Haydn's Creation (Gabriel, with Northwest Symphony Orchestra), Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 (Port Angeles Symphony), and soprano II in Mozart's Mass in C Minor and Bach's Magnificat under conductor Helmuth Rilling in Eugene, Oregon.
Selected Roles
Art Song & Recital
Hughes is an international recitalist specializing in Spanish and Latin American art song, with a repertoire encompassing Wolf, Mompou, Hindemith, Schumann, Zemlinsky, Weill, Nin, and Libby Larsen. Concert highlights include performing Chopin's complete Polish songs for the Northwest Chopin Foundation, recitals at the Washington State Governor's Mansion, and appearances with the Celebrate Song Series (Portland) and the Aspen Music Festival Young Artist Concert Series.
In Mexico, she has given recitals on the Pro Música Series in San Miguel de Allende, a solo recital at the Bellas Artes Manuel Ponce Chamber Hall in Mexico City, and solo recitals at the Teatro Juárez in Guanajuato City.
Teaching & Scholarship
Dr. Hughes earned her Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance (Musicology secondary) from the University of Oregon, with a dissertation titled Kurt Weill's Love Life and the American Dream. She also holds an M.M. in Violin Performance from Texas Tech University and a B.A. in Music from Colgate University, with additional study at the Barcelona Festival of Song (2019) and Somatic Voicework™ with Jeannette LoVetri.
For fourteen years (2009–2022) she served as Head of Performance Voice and European Musicology at Seattle Pacific University, where her work encompassed studio voice, diction (Italian, German, French, Spanish, English), song literature, vocal pedagogy, and music history (Medieval–20th Century); she also directed the Opera Workshop.
Her teaching philosophy is student-centered, committed to fostering healthy, sustainable vocal technique and expressive artistry in an inclusive studio environment — with an emphasis on individualized instruction, stylistic fluency across languages, and the integration of cultural context in repertoire study.
Doctor of Musical Arts
University of Oregon
Violin Performance
Texas Tech University
Music
Colgate University
Head of Performance Voice & European Musicology (2009–2022)
Seattle Pacific University
Awards & Service
Hughes has been twice awarded the Seattle Pacific University Faculty Research Grant (2014, 2018), was Jack Straw Artist in Residence (2012), and was a Ladies Musical Club of Seattle Competition Finalist.
She has held multiple leadership roles in the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), Puget Sound Chapter — including Chapter President, Vice President for Student Adjudications, Board Member, and Website Chair — and has served on the Faculty Affairs Committee and Race & Pedagogy Learning Community at Seattle Pacific University.
Languages: Spanish and German (proficient); Italian and French (reading/IPA); diction in Catalan, Portuguese, and Latin.
Press Kit & Documents
For presenters and press: a printable biography, résumé, and complete CV are available below. The on-page Resume and Complete CV contain the same information in web-friendly form.
Download Biography (PDF) Download Résumé (PDF) Download Complete CV (PDF)
Available for private lessons, recitals, chamber music collaborations, and masterclasses.