About Irina

First-generation Romanian-American pianist Irina Meachem performs widely as a recitalist and opera coach, collaborating with leading vocal artists and emerging professionals alike. Last season, she opened the 2024–25 Vocal Arts DC season with her Kennedy Center debut alongside her husband, baritone Lucas Meachem. The Washington Classical Review praised her performance, noting that she “matched her partner’s careful attention to sensitive phrasing, delicately softening the ends of lines and adding organic complexity to each musical statement.”

In 2023, Meachem appeared as soloist with Classical Tahoe performing William Grant Still’s Ennanga for harp, piano, and strings. She also served on the music staff of Festival Napa Valley, coaching young artists and contributing to the summer production of Don Pasquale.

Meachem has held faculty appointments with the University of Minnesota, Tequila Cultural Festival, the Vincerò Opera Program, and Michigan State University. She has additionally worked as a coach and répétiteur with opera companies and training programs including Palm Beach Opera, Sarasota Opera, Phoenicia Festival of the Voice, Opera Birmingham, Amarillo Opera, Nashville Opera, Shreveport Opera, OperaWorks, Chicago Summer Opera, Mill City Summer Opera, Opera in the Ozarks, Bay View Music Festival, the Banff Centre, and the Interlochen Summer Arts Academy.

She holds a Master of Music degree from Florida State University and a Bachelor of Music degree from Lawrence University. In 2021, Meachem released her first album with Lucas Meachem, Shall We Gather, a collection of American art songs on the Rubicon Classics label.