Born in Santiago, Chile, Susana Leiva's musical growth was nurtured by her mother, also a classically trained singer and pianist. Alongside her piano lessons, which began at the age of four, Leiva had been constantly involved in singing with various vocal ensembles that had toured extensively in North America, South America, Canada, and Japan. Altogether, she had appeared and sung in over 20 productions before learning the craft of operatic singing. Leiva has performed many roles throughout her undergraduate and graduate training, in both operatic and musical productions alike. She has appeared in Alcina as the titular lead at the Trentino Music Festival in Italy. Her operatic catalogue also includes Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel, Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi, Miss Wordsworth in Albert Herring, Adele in Die Fledermaus, Mabel in Pirates of Penzance, The Princess in Little Nemo in Slumberland by Daron Hagen, and Mary the Mother of Jesus in Marcos Galvany’s Oh My Son. Leiva has also sung in musicals, including The Sound of Music (as Elsa), and Fiddler on the Roof (as Hodel). 

In addition to her work in productions, Leiva has extensive experience in recitals, concerts with orchestras, opera scene concerts, and choral ensemble performances across the U.S. Leiva has studied privately with Eduardo Chama, Dr. Raejin Lee, and currently studies with Gerald Moore. Leiva holds a Master’s of Music in Opera Performance from the Mason Gross School of The Arts at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ, and a Bachelor’s of Music in Vocal Performance from La Sierra University in Riverside, CA. When she’s not singing or teaching music, Leiva enjoys drawing, interior decorating, and taking on home-improvement projects with her husband.