A native of Pasadena, California, Juliana Gondek began her musical career as a violinist before receiving BM and MM degrees in voice "magna cum laude" from the University of Southern California. She embarked on her singing career after winning back-to-back gold medals in the Geneva and Barcelona International Singing Competitions, as well as the Prix Patek Philippe and "Musical America"'s Young Artist of the Year Award. She was awarded the National Endowment for the Arts Solo Recitalist Prize for her innovative concert series, "The Art of Polish Song." Also a distinguished pedagogue, Ms. Gondek has served as Professor of Voice and Opera Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) since 1997. She has traveled frequently to adjudicate the Metropolitan Opera Auditions and other prominent competitions, to lecture and teach master classes at institutions such as Japan's Pacific Music Festival, the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, the Manhattan School of Music, the University of Chicago, the USC School of Music, Rice University in Houston, and the University of California at Berkeley, and to serve as consultant to American filmmakers, journalists, and news organizations