Martha Kostiouk Hollier Phone 318-284-3287 P. O. Box 157, Ida, LA

mmhollier@earthlink.net Ida, LA 71044

Soprano soloist Martha Kostiuk Hollier, formerly of the Bolshoi Theater Opera in Moscow.

The lyric and coloratura soprano is especially renowned in Russia and Europe for the unique timbre of her voice and for the artistry and drama of her performances. She was awarded second prize in the International Vocal Competition in Sophia, Bulgaria, in 1984.

Born in Ukraine in the small village of Ozeriany, Martha Kostiuk attended public school where her teachers recognized the quality of her voice and where she first received special training. She attended the Conservatory of Music in Lvov, Ukraine, receiving a Diploma with Honors in 1975 with degrees in opera, chamber vocalist, and teacher of voice.

Before her graduation she was chosen to compete in auditions for the Moscow Bolshoi Opera. She was one of just four chosen out of 180 competing and became a leading soloist with the Theater. She performed there for 21 years, and lists in her repertoire many leading lyrical and coloratura soprano parts including Rossina’s Barber of Seville, Verdi’s Violetta in La Traviata and Oscar in Un Ballo in Maschera and Gilda in Rigoletto. Her extensive repertoire also includes Russian operas by Glinka, Rimski-Korsakoff, and Tchaikovsky as well as operas by Mozart, Gounod, Meyerbeer, and Massenet.

She has traveled widely with the opera company appearing in concert halls and opera houses throughout Europe. Throughout her career she has also performed a repertoire of chamber music which includes famous western European lyrical songs and traditional Russian and Ukrainian folk songs in venues throughout Europe as well as in Morocco, Australia, and Turkey.

Since becoming a resident of Ida, Louisiana, in March of 1999, Martha Kostiuk Hollier has sung frequently in the churches in Shreveport, LA, Houston, TX, Texarkana, TX, Jefferson, TX, Alexandria, LA, Mansfield, LA,

Cheyenne, WY, York, PA, and others.

At the University of Louisiana at Monroe, Martha K. Hollier holds the Emy-Lou Beidenharn Vocal Enodowed Chair for 2003-2004.