Program Overview

Voice

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.

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 Facts

  • Program Type: Major, Minor
    • Bachelor of Music (BM)
    • Artist Diploma (ADip)
  • Division: Vocal Studies

Voice Department Chair

Timothy LeFebvre,
Professor of Voice

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

Choirs, vocal chamber music ensembles, and opera scenes and full-scale productions are the main performing avenues for vocal studies students. Oberlin Opera Theater presents two major productions with orchestra each year. Recent main-stage productions have included Le nozze di Figaro, Cendrillon, Street Scene, and The Turn of the Screw. Small-scale operas and new works are presented in both traditional and nontraditional venues during Winter Term. Those productions are also opportunities for students to experience what it's like to direct, create scenery and costumes, and serve as dramaturg. Recent productions include Du Yun's Pulitzer Prize-winning Angel's Bone and Missy Mazzolli's Proving Up. Students enrolled in opera classes also present performances of major opera scenes each semester.

Performance Ensembles

Affiliated Faculty

Daniel Michalak

Vocal Coach and Accompanist

Thomas Bandy

Associate Professor of Vocal Accompanying

Javier Gonzalez

Collaborative Pianist

Elena Loskova

Collaborative Pianist

Kyung-Eun Na

Associate Professor of Opera Coaching

Gregory Ristow ’01

Associate Professor of Conducting

Upcoming Voice Events

Voice News

The Dark Side of Orpheus

March 7, 2024

Oberlin Opera Theater’s latest production gives a complex, contemporary take on the familiar story of the Greek hero in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo.
Graphic depiction of chest of man in black suit with red tie, staircase and back of a figure wearing a white gown and one wearing a black suit