Josaphat Roberto Contreras is a first-generation Mexican-American singer, educator, and Fulbright Scholar. Josaphat is excited to join the Boston College voice faculty for the fall 2026 semester. Contreras was a recipient of the 2026 National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Emerging Leaders award recognized as an outstanding early-career voice teacher making an impact in studios, classrooms, and communities across the singing profession. Josaphat was named a 2024-2025 COMEXUS Garcia-Robles Fulbright Scholar where he researched Mexican folk music style, interpretation, and Mariachi vocal pedagogy at the National Mariachi conservatory Olin Yolitztli Garibaldi in Mexico city, Mexico. As a performer, Josaphat has interpreted a diverse range of roles. His favorites include Gastone (La Traviata) Ferrando (Cosi Fan Tutte) Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Rinuccio (Gianni Schicchi), Orpheus (Orpheus in the Underworld), The narrator (into The Woods), Giove (Il ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria), and the Narrator (Bach’s Coffee Cantata). Contreras has performed with companies including the Teatro Ángela Peralta (Mazatlán, Mexico), Boston Lyric Opera, Musica Sacra of NY, the New York Philharmonic, Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra, Opera Maine, Connecticut Lyric Opera, Quincy Choral Society, Eureka Orchestra Boston, Opera Memphis, and On Site Opera. Comfortable in other genres, Josaphat sung back up for the Josh Groban summer tour in 2019, in 2022 made his musical theatre debut in Boston as the Narrator in Into the Woods, and in 2024, was hired as a backup singer for Andrea Bocelli. Beyond opera, Josaphat is an established concert soloist singing works from Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem to Goodall’s Eternal Light: A Requiem in venues across the country. His students consistently secured top placements in the Texas All-State Choir process and have successfully competed in the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) competitions across multiple regions. He has also severed on the voice faculty for Ocean County College and on the voice faculty of the New England Conservatory’s Voice for Non-Majors program. In addition to these institutions, he had his own private studios in Boston, New York city, greater Houston area. Most recently, Josaphat had a student placed third place in the Beethoven Club of Memphis annual vocal competition. His research has been presented at institutions including National Opera Association, Houston Grand Opera, NPR Illinois, International Congress of Voice Teachers, the New England Conservatory of Music, University of Memphis, Pan-American Vocology Association, 2026 National NATS conference and Arizona State University. In 2023, his deeply researched presentation, Can Opera Be Folk Music?, won first place at the National Opera Association conference. Beyond his professional life, Josaphat is a devoted partner and father. His family and heritage continue to inspire his commitment to building a more empathetic and inclusive world through music. He holds a Master of Music in Vocal Pedagogy from the New England Conservatory (NEC). Josaphat was chosen as the NEC commencement speaker for the graduating class of 2022. When not working, he spends his time with his dog Rufus, wife Amanda Michelle, and 2 year old daughter Ava Michelle.