Cal State San Bernardino’s own Stacey Fraser, acclaimed soprano and professor/director of the award-winning CSUSB Opera Theatre, is celebrating a remarkable string of achievements in 2025 that further cement her reputation as both a world-class performer and dedicated educator.

This summer, Fraser was named Favorite Opera Singer in the San Francisco Classical Voice Audience Choice Awards 2024–25: Los Angeles Winners, receiving more than half of all votes cast in the category. The honor recognized her dynamic artistry and creative direction in opera and musical theater productions.

“I am honoured by the generosity of the San Francisco Classical Voice voters and to be included among so many world-class artists, famous and emerging alike,” Fraser said. “Also, a huge thank you to the Brightwork Ensemble, with whom I get to make this wonderful music year after year!”

Her performances continue to earn critical acclaim. Fraser is featured on two major album releases in 2025. “My Dancing Sweetheart (Just Songs)” with Brightwork Ensemble, released by Microfest Records, has been praised as “… nothing less than a tour de force for Ms. Fraser who passionately invested every sort of painful emotion into the many words … great surges of anger, sadness, despair, and frustration were heard in their many variations, often expressed at the very limits of vocal technique. Ms. Fraser sang with a combination of confidence and daring …” wrote Paul Muller of Sequenza 21.

Earlier this year, Fraser also released “A Chaos of Light and Motion” with Grammy-winning composer Jack Van Zandt on Neuma Records. The album highlights their long-standing artistic partnership and blends classical art song, European modernism, and jazz influences. As composer Anne LeBaron observed: “Conjuring fantastical worlds in his imaginative settings of Percy Bysshe Shelley, Rabindranath Tagore, and Jill Freeman, composer Jack Van Zandt caresses words and shapes instrumental colors like an alchemist, all brought vividly to life by the superb Stacey Fraser.”

At CSUSB, Fraser continues to bring innovation and impact to the stage. In spring 2025, she directed the Opera Theatre’s groundbreaking adaptation of “The AIDS Quilt Songbook” at the Palm Desert Campus. The production — a project supported by a Title V Pathways to Success Grant — brought together students, faculty, and professional guest artists to honor lives lost and voices silenced by the AIDS epidemic through music, dance, and newly commissioned works.

These achievements build on Fraser’s recognition as the university’s 2024–25 Outstanding Professor Award recipient, one of CSUSB’s highest faculty honors. CSUSB President Tomás D. Morales praised her “enduring excellence in teaching, research, scholarly activities, creative activities and service to our students and the university community,” noting her eminence in the field and devotion to students.

Since joining CSUSB in 2007, Fraser has directed more than 25 opera and musical productions, guiding students toward opportunities at top conservatories and professional companies. With a career spanning international opera stages and contemporary music ensembles, she brings extraordinary performance experience into the classroom and onto the stage, embodying CSUSB’s mission to prepare students for life and career success.