Kirsten Ashley Wiest is a classically-trained coloratura soprano dedicated to the advancement of opera, art song, and chamber music through the performance and recording of music by living composers. The “impressive power, control and range” (Sequenza 21) of her voice has captured the attention of composers worldwide, resulting in over 60 world premiere performances and premiere recordings including works by Lei Liang (CN/US), James Erber (UK), Veronika Krausas (CA/US), Gérard Pape (FR), and Jeffrey Holmes (US).

Kirsten has sung as a soloist with the GRAMMY-winning Partch ensemble, Bang on a Can All-Stars, and musicians of the Los Angeles Philharmonic; for film scores including The Unholy, Malignant, and the Conjuring series; and for recordings on Sony Classical and Centaur Records, among many others. 

Equally at home with music of the past, Kirsten has headlined as "Mabel" in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance and as "Polly Peachum" in Weill's ThreePenny Opera. She has appeared as soprano soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria, Mozart’s Coronation Mass in C Major, K.317, and Orff’s Carmina Burana, and is currently preparing the roles of "Lucia" in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and "Königin Der Nacht" in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. 

Kirsten holds a DMA in Contemporary Music Performance in Voice from UC San Diego, MFA from California Institute of the Arts, and BM cum laude from Chapman University’s Conservatory of Music. Alongside performing, Kirsten teaches voice at San Bernardino Valley College and University of California Riverside.