About

Mezzo-soprano, Xochitl S. Hernandez is a Mexican American artist and journalist, born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Hernandez holds a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Miami Frost School of Music and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Arts degree, including a minor in Spanish-language journalism, from California State University Northridge (CSUN). At CSUN, Ms. Hernandez graduated as a Magna Cum Laude, a Presidential Scholar, and one of CSUN’s Outstanding Graduating Seniors, an award given to six out of over 11,000 students. Most recently, Ms. Hernandez made her Central City Opera debut as Wowkle in La Fanciulla del West and Kate in The Pirates of Penzance during her time as a studio artist summer 2024. Additionally, she was recently named winner of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition Puerto Rico District and represented her district in the Gulf Coast Regionals 2024.

Hernandez has performed in venues throughout Los Angeles, Germany, and Salzburg as she studied German romantic lied for two summers. From musical theater to galas and opera, Hernandez’s 2023-2024 season has included a recital performing entirely Spanish and Mexican repertoire and a milieu of opera and musical theater scenes while a studio artist at Central City Opera. Other performances include a musical theater medley production in Frost School of Music’s unveiling of their new Knight Recital Hall, 2nd Nursemaid in Kurt Weill’s Street Scene, a returning soloist in St. Stephen Episcopal Church’s Concert Series, debuting as Jenny in Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny for Frost Opera Theater’s Night in the Next Whiskey Bar scenes production, and her Carnegie Hall debut with Vincerò Academy in January 2024.

While at the Frost School of Music, Hernandez debuted with Frost Opera Theater as Micaela in a zarzuela scene of Entre Sevilla y Triana, covered Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, and sang “In trutina” under the baton of Dr. Amanda Quist with Frost Chorale and Symphony Orchestras as a soloist in Carmina Burana.

Prior to her master’s, Ms. Hernandez studied under Dr. Sannerud and Broadway star Diane Ketchie while at CSUN. She has sung in multiple operas, including Otto Nicolai’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, Handel’s Serse, was Merlina in the American premiere of Domenico Cimarosa’s L’impresario in angustie, and starred as Public Opinion in Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld.

In her choral experience, Hernandez was an alto section leader for Northridge Singers, CSUN’s top chorale and former winners of Choir of the World competition. Northridge Singer’s repertoire spanned spirituals, contemporary, madrigals, 21st century/world music, Faure’s Requiem, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Mozart’s Requiem, Daruffle’s Requiem, and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. Additionally, Hernandez sang as a soloist in CSUN chorale concerts of Handel’s Messiah with “He shall feed his flock” and Mendelssohn’s Elijah with “Woe unto them.” An avid performer with the CSUN Latino Music Ensemble, she also performed mariachi and boleros with the group.

As an actress and public speaker, Ms. Hernandez has been twice ranked at the UC Berkeley National Speech and Debate Invitational in humorous interpretation for her one-woman adaptions of plays and musical theater of Disenchanted and The LaLa Awards. She is also a two-time California CHSSA state-ranked speaker for those same performances.

Besides singing, Ms. Hernandez engages in other storytelling art forms such writing and multimedia journalism; her bilingual journalism career has taken her everywhere from California, Washington state and Florida, covering Hurricane Ian, immigration and DACA issues, social injustice, the Presidential election, the overturn of Roe V. Wade and, of course, arts and culture. Her work has also specifically focused on Chicano and Latino multimedia news reporting writing articles and podcasts for CSUN’s Spanish multimedia news platform, El Nuevo Sol about issues pertaining to the Latinx and Spanish-speaking community. She is a former weather girl and morning anchor for Wake Up Northwest and has also participated in NPR’s Next Generation Radio Program for rising journalists. Ms. Hernandez has also formerly worked as an on-air bilingual reporter for NBC 6 Miami while in school full time, desiring to communicate powerful storytelling on international stages as well as on air; a reflection of both her own multiculturalism and social innovation to encourage social engagement amongst a world audience of underrepresented backgrounds in classical music. Other work includes being a contributing writer for the San Fernando Sun Newspaper, Los Angeles Opera, the Frost School of Music’s Vivace, as well as a digital content creator for FIERCE by Mitu.

In her career, Xochitl has established herself as a storyteller of both music and in journalism by creating a podcast on women of color musicians, Notes From Her, for which she won the top CSUN Presidential Scholarship. Her passion for social service through music is what lead Xochitl to work as a reporter during COVID-19 while simultaneously performing in LA Opera’s Virtual Choir, qualifying as a semifinalist in the international Opera en Castellano competition, and teaching underserved children about social justice through opera as an LA Opera teaching artist.

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