Austin-based soprano, conductor, composer, and teacher Christa Tumlinson makes music with people: on the page, in the choir, on stage, and in the studio.

Christa specializes in performing and championing new vocal music, bridging the gap between classical and contemporary song. She has sung as a featured soloist and section leader with professional ensembles across California and Texas, from San Francisco’s Volti to Austin’s Panoramic Voices and more.

As inaugural artistic director of Sound Collective and Director of Music and Worship Arts at Trinity Church of Austin, she builds expressive, inclusive choral communities where every singer has a place.

In her private studio, Christa teaches voice with a holistic, fully embodied approach that invites each student to find their authentic voice.

Let’s make music happen.

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PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY

A transplant from Kansas, soprano, conductor, and composer Christa Tumlinson performed as a professional vocalist across Southern California and the San Francisco Bay Area, and now in her home, Austin, Texas. She specializes in performing and promoting new vocal music, bridging the gap between classical and contemporary song.

Christa’s performance highlights include seven seasons with San Francisco’s acclaimed new-music ensemble Volti and featured solo work at the Ojai Music Festival. She has toured internationally as both a singer and arts administrator, performing throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, and the United States. In Austin, she is a section leader with Panoramic Voices, an inclusive and innovative community chorus, and sings with professional ensembles throughout Bat City, including Inversion Ensemble.

As a conductor, Christa serves as Director of Music and Worship Arts at Trinity Church of Austin and as inaugural artistic director of Sound Collective, an inclusive vocal ensemble that welcomes singers and musicians of all abilities. Her choral leadership centers accessibility, connection, and creativity, inviting singers of every level to share fully in the joy of making music together.

An active composer and arranger, Christa writes sacred and secular choral works, as well as original songs and musicals. Her music favors storytelling, accessible harmonies, folk-inspired textures, and emotionally resonant text settings that invite wide participation.

Christa maintains a vibrant private voice studio in Southwest Austin and works throughout the city as a coach, clinician, and musical director. Her teaching blends healthy vocal technique with mindfulness, creativity, and curiosity, helping singers of all ages develop authentic, expressive, and embodied voices.

She is also a certified yoga instructor (RYT-200) and trained sound healing practitioner (Atma Buti Sound and Vibrational School, Levels 1 & 2). Both practices shape her approach to breath, body awareness, and grounded, tension-free singing.

Christa earned her Bachelor of Music in Voice from California State University, Fullerton.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

  • In demand section leader and soloist in Austin, including Panoramic Voices and Inversion Ensemble

  • Inaugural artistic director of Sound Collective, leading 10 performances across Austin in the ensemble’s first season

  • Featured soloist at the Ojai Music Festival under the direction of Jeremy Denk

  • Seven seasons with San Francisco’s professional new-music ensemble Volti, collaborating with the Kronos Quartet, Berkeley Symphony, and Cal Performances

  • Worked with distinguished composers Morten Lauridsen, Eric Whitacre, Terry Riley, and John Adams

  • Premiered dozens of new works and collaborated with influential living composers including Melissa Dunphy, Ted Hearne, Tim Takach, Dan Forrest, Shawn Crouch, and more

UPCOMING GIGS

  • October 11: Music Moves Mountains Foundation presents Sound Collective at Captain Quack’s Soundspace in South Austin

  • October 18: Curios with Panoramic Voices, world premiere of new work: Look Out Beyond

  • November 22: Hotel Viata Tree Lighting Ceremony with Sound Collective

  • December 6: Light It Up with Panoramic Voices & Conducting Sound Collective at Central Machine Works

  • December 14: Sound Collective Holiday Show at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired

"THE ONLY THING BETTER THAN SINGING IS MORE SINGING."

-Ella Fitzgerald