“Gabriela Estephanie Solís, the mezzo-soprano soloist and a San Francisco Bay area native, consistently stole the show with her rich tone and seemingly effortless melismatic lines.”

— San Francisco Classical Voice

“…it was Solís who always seemed to add just the right amount of dramatic seasoning to her delivery of her texts…”

— The Rehearsal Studio

“Solo passages were sung with noble clarity by tenor Mark Bonney and with moving expressiveness (and sensitive Russian diction) by mezzo-soprano Gabriela Estephanie Solís.”

— San Francisco Classical Voice

“In this remarkable Tempesta performance, all four singers were stellar…And as Judith’s devoted handmaiden Abra, mezzo-soprano Gabriela Estephanie Solís sang with warmth, clarity, and a gorgeous tone that made the role come alive.”

— Broad Street Review

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Mezzo-soprano Gabriela Estephanie Solís lends her “rich tone” and “moving expressiveness” (San Francisco Classical Voice) to an expansive range of concert repertoire spanning medieval through contemporary periods. Her notable solo performances from past seasons include Copland’s In the Beginning (University of Notre Dame), Brahms’s Alto Rhapsody (Grace & St.Peter’s, Baltimore), selections from Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder (Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra), Holst’s The Cloud Messenger (The Epiphany Festival), Mozart’s Requiem (Marin Symphony), and Lili Boulanger’s Psalm 130: Du fond de l’abîme (The Epiphany Festival). 

An in-demand interpreter of Baroque repertoire, she has collaborated with preeminent early music organizations such as Tempesta di Mare, Apollo’s Fire, American Bach Soloists, and the Boston Early Music Festival in performances including Vivaldi’s Juditha Triumphans (Tempesta di Mare), Bach’s B Minor Mass (Apollo’s Fire), Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater (Resonance Berkeley), Handel’s Messiah (Seraphic Fire), and Buxtehude’s Membra Jesu Nostri (University of Notre Dame), as well as on stage in the roles of Medoro in Handel’s Orlando (BEMF Young Artist Training Program), Bradamante in Handel’s Alcina, and Endimione in Cavalli’s La Calisto at San Francisco State University under the direction of Christine Brandes. Gabriela also had the privilege of studying at the Weimar Bach Cantata Academy, the Amherst Early Music Festival, the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart. She competed as a finalist in both the 2022 Handel Aria Competition and the 2021 Audrey Rooney Bach Competition, and won first place in the 2018 Bethlehem Bach Aria Competition.

She also frequently collaborates with ensembles such as Seraphic Fire and Lorelei Ensemble. Past groups also include Apollo’s Fire, Variant Six, the Oregon Bach Festival Berwick Chorus, Eya Ensemble for Medieval Music, and the choirs of the Washington National Cathedral and National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

As the proud descendant of immigrants from Panamá and México, Gabriela is passionate about celebrating Latin American and Spanish-language repertoire. She has previously collaborated with the Minnesota-based ensemble Border CrosSing in major works such as Golijov’s La Pasión según San Marcos, as well as a bilingual Spanish-English Messiah with the Minnesota Orchestra and a program of Latin American Baroque music with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Her personal study focuses on vocal techniques of Panamanian and Mexican folk music, as well popular repertoire from Cuba and Puerto Rico. Recently, she participated as a participant and guest presenter for Spanish Sin Pena—a Spanish-language learning course for heritage speakers—on the rich history of protest music in Latin America.

The upcoming season will see Gabriela making her debut with Princeton Pro Musica and New York Baroque Inc. in performances of Bach’s Magnificat. She will also return for a third engagement with Baroque chamber ensemble Tempesta di Mare as the featured soloist for both the US premiere of Agata della Pietà’s Ecce nunc and for concerts in Venice and Florence as a part of their multi-year celebration of the female musician and performers of Ospedali grande.