Associate Director | Center for Ethnic Studies Research (CESR) University of Pittsburgh & Founder | Afro-Latinx Song & Opera Project

Afro-Latina soprano Zuly Inirio hails from the Dominican Republic and has appeared as a soloist throughout the United States and Europe. She actively pursues bringing awareness to Afro-Latinidad in classical music with her ‘Afro-Latinx Song and Opera Project’ whose goal is to commission new works that tell the stories of the Afro-Latin and Afro-Latinx communities, as well as decolonize the classical music canon by uplifting the contributions and stories of Afro-Latin American and Afro-Latinx classical composers. Through her artistry and activism, she works toward representation and equity for BIPOC.

Ms. Inirio is also well-versed in concert work and as a recitalist, most notably in the Lyrica Dialogues Organized by the Lyrica Society at Harvard in Boston, MA where she debuted Carson Cooman's Sunset. She also performed Jake Heggie’s Natural Selection in Baton Rouge, LA where she worked with the composer directly. Most recently, she was highlighted in Austin Opera's Concerts at the Consulate.

She was one of Pittsburgh Concert Society’s Major Artist Competition Winners in 2020 and has collaborated with the Incidental Chamber Players. Ms.Inirio was the soprano soloist in Verdi's Requiem in Munich, Germany under the baton of Massimiliano Murrali and has sung the role of the High Priestess and covered the title role in Verdi’s Aida in Sicily, Italy. She was most recently featured as a recitalist in Austin Opera’s Concerts at the Consulate.

Dr. Inirio holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts from Louisiana State University and continues her education at the intersections of music and social justice by working towards a Master's in Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh (May 2023). She is also the Associate Director of the Center for Ethnic Studies Research (CESR) at the University of Pittsburgh.