Dr. Perna is Assistant Professor of Voice Pedagogy at Mississippi College where he teaches studio voice and varying courses related to voice pedagogy. He holds degrees from the University of Miami and the University of Houston. An active researcher, Dr. Perna was awarded a Presser Music Foundation Award leading to research into nasalance and the acoustics of the tenor passaggio. His research on nasalance has been presented at conferences such as The 8th International Congress of Voice Teachers in Brisbane and has been published in Journal of Singing. An active NATS member, he is currently Governor of the West Virginia District, and Vice-President of the Tri-State Chapter. Previous faculty appointments include West Virginia University and New World School of the Arts.
In Nicholas Perna's debut as the Prince in Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges Charles Ward of the Houston Chronicle said, “an impressive sound, (he) made the show work vocally.” Operatic credits include Rodolfo in La Bohème, The Duke in Rigoletto, Nemorino in L’Elisir d’amore, Alfred in Die Fledermaus, and Tamino in The Magic Flute. Concert appearances include Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, Beethoven's Symphony no. 9, Rossini's Petite Messe Solenelle, Handel’s Messiah, and Orff's Carmina Burana. He can be heard on the Albany label, as Paolo in Mancinelli’s Paolo e Francesca. A frequent recitalist, Perna regularly performs the songs of Benjamin Britten. In collaboration with soprano, Dr. Mandy Spivak, they created The Comprehensive Britten Song Database, an open source reference for voice professionals worldwide. http://www.brittensongdatabase.com. His teachers include David Alt, Jerold Siena, and Joseph Evans. Dr. Perna twice apprenticed with the Santa Fe Opera.