soprano soloist with chamber orchestra — Soprano and Concerto Competition winner Amber Monroe ’17 performs with the Oberlin Chamber Orchestra in Ricky Gordon’s "and flowers pick themselves." Photo credit: Yevhen Gulenko

Program Overview

Voice

Program Type: Major, Minor

Bachelor of Music (BM)
Artist Diploma (ADip)

Division: Vocal Studies

We develop young singers through vocal coaching, diction and language, pedagogy classes, and operatic, song, and chamber music study. Students will gain confidence, performance acumen, auditioning skills, and artistry across a broad repertoire. Voice students have many performance opportunities including fully staged opera productions presented in original languages, choral ensembles, and solo appearances with instrumental ensembles. We prepare students for exceptional careers in opera, oratorio, recital, early music, and the music of today. Qualified advanced students may earn the Artist Diploma in vocal studies.

opera theater show hansel and gretel with hansel and witch — Oberlin Conservatory students perform in Opera Theater’s Hänsel und Gretel in Hall Auditorium. Photo credit: Yevhen Gulenko

Performance Opportunities

Oberlin Opera Theater presents two major productions with orchestra each year. Small-scale operas are presented in nontraditional venues during winter term. Recent main-stage productions have included Le nozze di Figaro, Cendrillon, Street Scene, and The Rape of Lucretia. Students enrolled in opera classes also present performances of opera scenes each semester.

LANG 101 - Italian Diction 2 credits
APST 204 - Interpretation of Art Song 4 credits
APST 230 - The Teaching of Song 4 credits
APST 701 - Oberlin College Choir 2 credits

Curriculum and requirements

Voice Faculty

Explore Faculty within Voice

“The core of singing is to express emotionally with great authenticity both who that performer is, that particular singer on the stage, but also the character that he or she is embodying.”
Lorraine Manz, Professor of Voice

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