Soprano Jennifer Kayner Honan, a native of Rochester, New York, currently lives and works in the New York City area as a freelance musician, music teacher, and vocal coach. She is known for her tenacity, focus, commitment, and deep belief in her craft.
In June 2023, she performed the role of Lucy in Menotti’s The Telephone at the International Summer Opera Festival of Morelia in Mexico. In February 2024, she appeared as Dater No. 15 in Michael Ching’s Speed Dating Tonight with Buffalo Opera Unlimited. In the fall of 2024, she released three songs recorded with pianist Shane Schag and composed by Stephen Shewan; these recordings are available on Spotify, YouTube, and other digital platforms.
In October 2024, Jennifer collaborated with jazz pianist Lon Kaiser in a recital of Charles Ives songs at the composer’s birthplace in Danbury, Connecticut, in celebration of the 150th anniversary of his birth. In March 2025, she performed in the Verdi Marathon in Busseto, Italy, with Regium Lepidi Opera. In July 2025, she sang the role of Frasquita in Bizet’s Carmen with Clyde Opera in Glasgow, Scotland. In November 2025, she made her debut with Opera Atlantic Company in New Jersey. The following month, she premiered the duet version of A Song of You and Me by Stephen Shewan with tenor Mark Daniel at a recital presented by the Opera Guild of Rochester.
Jennifer is currently collaborating with Toronto-based composer Robert Bruce on one of his song cycles. She remains active as a recitalist, church musician, and freelance artist.
She has studied with Dr. Jeffery McGhee, Katherine Ciesinski, Joan Patenaude-Yarnell, and Christopheren Nomura. Her coaches have included Shane Schag, Alexandra Marcora-Naumenko, and Scott Parry, and she currently studies with Ted Taylor and Mirko Matarazzo.
Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education from Roberts Wesleyan University and a Master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music.
Outside of music, Jennifer is also a triathlete, an avid outdoors enthusiast, and a passionate mover.