About
Lora Bashmakian is an Armenian-American soprano from Los Angeles, California. She is a recent graduate of Eastman School of Music, where she studied under Kiera Duffy. At Eastman, Lora performed the role of Adele from Die Fledermaus and Nanetta from Falstaff in Eastman Opera Theater’s scenes. On the concert stage, she appeared as the soprano soloist in Bach's Cantata's BWV 82 and BWV 89, Bruckner's Mass in F minor, Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang, and covered Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with Eastman Philharmonia and Eastman-Rochester Chorus.
This past summer, Lora performed with Finger Lakes Opera as Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro. In the 2026-2027 season, she will sing Blonde in West Bay Opera’s production of Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail, and cover Gilda in Opera Santa Barbara’s production of Rigoletto.
She is a two-time Encouragement Award Winner from The Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition. She has also sung with Lyric Opera of Orange County and with the Ted Atkatz Percussion Seminar, performing in Music for 18 Musicians by Steve Reich. She is a recent Encouragement Award recipient from the Camille Coloratura Awards.
Lora received her dual undergraduate degrees in vocal performance and music education from the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at California State University, Long Beach. In 2023 she was named the BCCM Concerto Competition winner, and performed Gliere's Concerto for Coloratura Soprano with the Bob Cole Symphony Orchestra.
