SHELLY BUCHANAN-GARLOTTE, mezzo-soprano, is a native of Hattiesburg, MS, and is an Assistant Professor of Voice at Mississippi Valley State University.  Dr. Buchanan-Garlotte completed her doctoral studies at Louisiana State University under the instruction of tenor, Robert Grayson. Among her teachers and coaches are Patricia Etienne-Havranek, Sandra Kungle, Teresa Kubiak, Virginia Zeani, and Martina Arroyo.  Dr. Buchanan-Garlotte has appeared with the Baton Rouge Symphony, Starkville Symphony, Indiana University Opera Theatre, Louisiana State University Opera Theater, Baton Rouge Opera, USM Symphony Orchestra, Utah Festival Opera Company, Saint Louis Opera Theatre, and Mississippi Opera in Jackson.  Among numerous scholarships and assistantships, Dr. Buchanan-Garlotte was the recipient of the prestigious awards of second place at both the Mid-South Region and Tri-State Region Metropolitan Opera National Council Competitions.  Dr. Buchanan-Garlotte’s operatic roles have included Suzuki in Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly,” La Zia Principessa in Puccini’s “Suor Angelica,” Maria Macapa in William Bolcom’s “McTeague,” Cecilia March in “Little Women,” Madame Lidoine in “Dialogues of the Carmelites,” and the title role in Bizet’s “Carmen”.  She has also appeared with Hattiesburg’s The Meistersingers as the Mother in Menotti’s “Amahl and the Night Visitors” and as La Ciesca in Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi” with Mississippi Opera.  After the completion of her doctoral studies, Dr. Buchanan-Garlotte returned to her hometown and worked to improve the language arts of all her students at The Center for Alternative Education, Picayune, and N.R. Burger Middle School, Hattiesburg.