Hello readers near and far! My name is Tina O’Malley (also known as “Soprano Tina” here at OOPS MN), and I am thrilled to be joining OOPS MN this summer as an intern. I am in constant awe of the talent and commitment of Minnesota’s artistic community and am honored to be a part of it.
I recently graduated from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul with a bachelor’s degree in vocal music and digital media arts. My greatest passion is for the vocal arts, but I also developed a great passion for videography, photography, web design and other forms of digital media while in college. I hope to bring both of these passions to my work here and beyond. After my summer interning with OOPS MN, I have a new challenge ahead of me- grad school hunting. I’m finding the search to be daunting, challenging and exciting all at once.
It wasn’t until about three years ago that I really “discovered” opera and realized that whatever I do in life, opera must be a part of it. Like many, I have been fed the starving artist narrative all my life, yet for me, the sound of the music is louder than all of those pessimistic voices. If we have learned anything from this past year, it is that music is so necessary and that artists are some of the most resilient and adaptable individuals on earth.
I interned with MN Opera’s Education Department during the 2019-2020 season under the tutelage of the wonderful Mitra Sadeghpour and proceeded to attend my very first opera that October. There’s something about your first opera that you never forget- the costumes, the orchestra, the energy, and most of all, the voices.
From that moment on, I have been immersing myself in the local classical vocal community and learning all I can about the business and the art form. Born and raised in New Brighton, Minnesota, I love to see the comradery among Twin Cities artists and all of the ways the local community is trying to battle elitism and inaccessibility in opera and the greater classical music industry.
I am so excited to work with the wonderful people at OOPS MN and cannot wait to spend this summer sharing the exciting work OOPS MN is bringing to the community.
You can learn more about me on my website (that I designed and coded from the ground up), tinaomalley.com, or contact me via email at support@oopsmn.org.