Having received her Bachelor of Music in vocal performance in 1971 under the tutelage of William Winden, Carmen Balthrop became a renowned lyric soprano performing with many of the world’s prominent opera companies and symphony orchestras, including the Metropolitan Opera, the Washington National Opera, Deutsche Oper (Berlin), Teatro La Fenice (Venice), the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the National Symphony Orchestra. Carmen also performed recitals at the White House, Carnegie Hall, the Library of Congress, and the Kennedy Center. Her singing voice was acclaimed by The New York Times as “a voice of power and uncommon tonal purity.” She became a distinguished alumna of the School of Music and a much beloved faculty member in the Voice and Opera Division, with a teaching career spanning more than 35 years. In 1995, she was inducted into the University of Maryland's Alumni Hall of Fame and was one of only 21 alumni honored as part of its inaugural class. Her voice will be greatly missed, but her spirit and passion for the arts will live on in the many, many students whom she taught and inspired over the years.
The Carmen Balthrop Endowed Scholarship will provide merit-based scholarships to recruit highly talented undergraduate students to the School of Music's Voice and Opera Division.