Praised for her “vocal warmth...even line, natural expressiveness” and “glorious instrument,” Iowa native Meagan Brus enjoys a diverse career as a versatile soprano, and energetic artistic administrator, program coordinator, and content producer.
As an active performer, Ms. Brus specializes in contemporary music both as a soloist and as part of the chamber group, sTem. As a soloist, and in collaboration with sTem, Ms. Brus has given the World Premiere performances of over three dozen works by living composers from around the world, presented masterclasses and new music workshops as the featured performer in residence at Cornell University (2017), Manhattan School of Music (2018), Bucknell University (2018), the National Autonomous University of Mexico and the National Superior Conservatory in Mexico City (2014), and Millersville University (2015 and 2016). With sTem’s full-length album, Lieder|Canciones, released in 2016, Derek Emch from THE CLARINET writes, “Brus’s performance overflows with emotion from her opening line to her final portamento.” In 2015, sTem presented a Northeastern US tour of their commissioned transcription and original English translation of Schoenberg’s monodrama Erwartung.
Ms. Brus' solo singing career included performances in the United States as well as Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Asia. Ms. Brus was the soprano soloist in a myriad of musical styles, performing in operas ranging from Alessandro Scarlatti’s Venere, Amore e Ragione (Bourbon Baroque), Bizet's Carmen (Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre), to the world premiere of Carson Kievman's Fairy Tales: Songs of the Dandelion Woman (SoBe Arts), which prompted Lawrence Budman of the Miami Herald to write, "In the title role, Meagan Brus dominates the stage with a frightening emotional intensity. Her brilliant flights of coloratura dazzle the ear but the strength of her middle voice evokes the woman's pathos and helplessness. A vocal and dramatic tour de force, her performance is a singular triumph." On the concert stage, Ms. Brus celebrated a variety of styles from performances in Luigi Boccherini’s Stabat Mater, Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire and Erwartung, to a classical arrangement of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon.
As a vocalist and instrumentalist, Ms. Brus can be heard on the albums Lieder|Canciones (sTem), This May Not Work and Everyone Went Home Alone (Another Dead Clown), Opera Cowgirls: Always Unplugged (Opera Cowgirls), and the soundtracks for Halo: Spartan Strike / The Fall of Reach / Spartan Assault, Galactic Reign,Tom Clancy’s: Ghost Recon Future Soldier and H.A.W.X. 2. With the aforementioned groups, Ms. Brus has been a featured artist at Rockwood Music Hall with the CMJ Music Festival, Le Poisson Rouge (LPR), Union Square Ballroom, Parkside Lounge, Spectrum, the DiMenna Center, the RiverArts Festival in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY, and at NYC’s historic St. Bartholomew’s Church.
As a dedicated arts advocate, Ms. Brus serves as Managing Director of MusicIC, a music and literature festival presented by the Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature, and previously held the position of Director of Marketing & Communications at The American Opera Project from 2020-2022. Additional leadership roles held by Ms. Brus during her tenure with The American Opera Project include associate producer, project manager, creative content producer and consultant, and founding member of the EDI Committee. Current projects include digital and creative content production for organizations in the education, research, and arts sectors.
Ms. Brus holds degrees from both the Manhattan School of Music and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.