About Me
I was born and raised in Newark, NJ. Singing has always been my passion and a God given gift. Growing up in an Urban area allows you to experience various types of music. Gospel music was my start until I was accepted into Arts High school. While in the famous school in Newark, my view on music evolved as I was then introduced to the classical world. Years have passed as I push forward in my dream to sing.
Born on August 4th, 1992, Kenita Alani Hopper started singing at the age of 6 in a local Catholic School in Irvington, NJ under the direction of gospel singer Dr. Tyron Williams. With the support of loving parents Jonita Godley, and Kenneth Hopper, Kenita quickly outlined a path to musical achievement. Reared in the Word of God, Kenita never gave up on her dreams even at times when she was greatly discouraged. Her career began by singing in the local churches in New Jersey until she was noticed and accepted into the Magnet School in Newark, NJ: Arts High.
Entering into Arts High School, Kenita adapted to a style of choral singing reared in the classical arts that she never before considered. By her junior year at Arts, it was apparent Kenita would succeed in a genre of music once foreign to her. In the year 2010, she was accepted into the most prestigious conservatory in the world, The Juilliard School of Music. While under the mentorship of voice teacher Sanford Sylvan, Kenita was featured in the Spring and Fall Concerts during her first and second year of college. It was also in that year the voice faculty classified her as a young Contralto: A female voice type with the lowest range but also a rare voice color. In her third year, Kenita gave a concert singing Edward Elgar's notable contralto song cycle: "Sea Pictures". Her last year as an undergraduate was the pinnacle of her Juilliard career as she played "Maman" in Maurice Ravel's L'enfant et les sortileges and "The Wife" in a collection of Charles Ives' works. Kenita played the role of "Baba" in Menotti's The Medium. As a graduation farewell to The Juilliard School she gave her Senior Concert where she also performed two of her own works, “The Trip” and “One Hundred and Eighty Degrees”.
In the year 2016, Kenita was accepted into Westminster Choir College, one of the top choir conservatories in the nation. Kenita sang under the direction of Joe Miller with Metropolitan Opera Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin. She toured with the Rider University choir to many venues such as Carnegie Hall, Kimmel Center and David Geffen Hall. While studying choral music at Westminster Choir College, Kenita never abandoned her Opera studies when she graduated with a Master's in Voice Performance/Pedagogy in the year 2018.
In 2019, Kenita Alani performed with Trilogy: An Opera company in Newark, Nj. It was July 20, 2019, when Kenita Alani made her professional debut with Trilogy an Opera company in "Treemonisha" by Scott Joplin, in the following year "Frederick Douglass" by Ulysses Kay. Kenita has sung with Carpenter Productions, an Opera Company in Manhattan, including the Mass in D minor by Mozart. In the following year, Kenita Alani joined the Harlem Opera Company in Shuffle Along (Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle). She was “Ruth” and the “Mistress of Deacon Birch in “Shuffle Along” (Blake & Sissle)” In 2022 Kenita Alani joined the Nubian Conservatory in Brooklyn, NY and performed the role “Prophetess Micah” in Handel's "Sampson. Kenita continues to perform with the Nubian Conservatory in 2023 under the direction of Dr. Lisa Bryce and Professor Ed Gordon.