True Magic from Classroom to Stage with the Santa Fe Opera Young Voices and University of New Mexico Students

Fire up the Key Change time machine! We’re charting our course for the collaborative partnership between Santa Fe Opera and the University of New Mexico (UNM). 

Never experienced time-machine travel before? No problem! Key Change co-hosts Olga Perez Flora and Anna Garcia are experienced pilots. They introduce us to students participating in the Young Voices residency and steer our audience through an exciting day of master classes and workshops on the UNM campus. And don’t worry if you’re new to this bold, creative initiative. Olga and Anna provide episode recommendations to help you navigate the journey. 

“It’s such a wonderful opportunity,” says Jamie Flora, esteemed tenor and professor at UNM, of the university’s collaboration with Santa Fe Opera. The dynamic program includes master classes on technique, audition logistics, performance critique, and resumé building, all designed to bridge the academic and professional opera worlds. 

“We’re planting seeds in their minds that this is possible!” explains Kristin Ditlow, Associate Professor of Vocal Coaching at UNM and Music Director of its Opera Theater. “We have pathways and relationships that get you from school to being a working singer.”

Quiara Cortez followed one of those pathways to UNM, where she is now studying. She credits the collaboration with Santa Fe Opera for nurturing her artistic development. “Being able to talk with the best of the best and seeing what our next steps as people who are already in college might be. And having something big and professional to look forward to is wonderful.”

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KEY CHANGE RECOMMENDED PLAYLIST

Where Talent Meets Opportunity: Career Trajectories in Opera with Kristin Ditlow & Jamie Flora

What’s Opera to a Bunch of High School Students? Young Voices, “The New Crop”

Taking Care of the Art with Chandler Johnson, Director of the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program for Singers

Rise to the Occasion of Your Opera Career with Chandler Johnson, Director of the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program for Singers

Safe Space for Creative Risks with Community Engagement and Education

Hometown to the World: Discovering "Postville" with Laura Kaminsky and Kimberly Reed

Making Learning Sticky: Creative Compassion for Kids & Educators Through Opera with Charles Gamble

Harmony in Process: The Young Voices of the Santa Fe Opera with Amy "Process" Owens

An Opportunity to Encounter Excellence (and Big News!)

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FEATURED IN THIS EPISODE

Kristin Ditlow - Associate Professor of Vocal Coaching, University of New Mexico; Music Director, University of New Mexico Opera Theater

James Flora - Lecturer II