Polish American mezzo-soprano Matilda Smolij recently graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Matilda has performed the roles of Zita in Gianni Schicchi in Cincinnati, Ohio; Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro in Morelia, Mexico; and Third Lady in Die Zauberflöte. Matilda has also been seen as the alto soloist in Beethoven’s Mass in C, Mozart’s Mass in C, and Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis. Recent awards include first-place winner of the International Marcella Sembrich Kochanska voice competition, winner of the 2022 and 2023 Three Arts scholarship competition, as well as winner of the 2022 and 2023 Shirley Rabb Winston scholarship. As a proud advocate of Polish repertoire, Matilda recently presented a recital of Polish and American music as part of the 2023 “Musica Regina in Villa” festival in Torino, Italy, and has also performed in collaboration with the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Houston and Polish American Symphony Orchestra.

Matilda is the recipient of the Lillian B. Hersh Music Scholarship, and the Audrey and Kenny Koblitz Scholarship.