Congratulations to our PMI and Class Students of the Month, Julieta Quiroz-Gorrostieta and Elisabeth Elze!
“Julieta has been taking lessons with me for almost 4 years now, and since the beginning, she has shown incredible work ethic, curiosity, and determination. She is always pushing me to give her more challenging music and is focused on continuing her growth no matter what it takes. Recently during the fall session, Julieta has completed several difficult piano pieces and performed 12 Days of Christmas at the recital. Her hard work is inspiring not only other students but for me as a teacher. Keep up the amazing work, Julieta! I can’t wait to see what we do next!” —Manda S. Amodio, Clarinet/Piano Instructor & Educational Programs Director
“Elisabeth Elze is a hard-working, dedicated dancer! She is always eager to learn what comes next and shows enthusiasm that truly is contagious to the other dancers. I am thrilled to have her in my ‘On Stage Dancers’ Class and I look forward to seeing her up on the stage someday, shining so bright! Keep up the great work Elisabeth.” —Amanda Teneriello, Dance Instructor
Described as a “voice of rich warmth and youthful elegance”, American soprano Mary-Alexandra Onstad is a versatile performer of opera, musical theatre, theatre, oratorio, art song and more. She is also an active Voice/ Piano and Acting Instructor in the New England Region. When she is not teaching she works in Arts Administration with both North End Music and Performing Arts School and MetroWest Opera.
Mrs. Onstad graduated in May 2010 with her Graduate Diploma in Voice and Opera Studies at the New England Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of Karen Holvik and coaching with Jean Anderson-Collier.
Mrs. Onstad has been seen on many stages including Greater Worcester Opera, Longwood Opera, Boston Opera Collaborative, New England Conservatory Opera Theatre, New England Light Opera, Juventas New Music Ensemble, Providence Opera, Fargo-Moorhead Opera, as well as many different performances within Germany, Austria, England, and Italy, including performances with the Frieberg Opera Theatre during her summer contract in 2007.
Mrs. Onstad is a passionate advocate for outreach within schools, nursing homes, and in her community. While completing her undergraduate studies, Mrs. Onstad sang in schools with the outreach team of the Fargo-Moorhead Opera. While studying at New England Conservatory in 2009, she performed a holiday quartet with three colleagues at schools, nursing homes and other venues as well as the Community Performances and Partnerships Opera Fellow for their 2010 production of the Magic Flute working closely to create education materials for the production.
A performer of great determination, Mary-Alexandra has participated in many prestigious opera and choral programs, such as the Berkshire Choral Festival (2003) as a student scholarship winner in Santa Fe, NM, the Bay Summer Opera Theatre Institute in San Francisco (2005), Oberlin in Italy Opera Festival in Urbana (2004), University of Miami at Salzburg, Austria (2003), and Saltnote Stageworks Opera Festival (2008).
Recent roles include Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte, the Vixen in Jancek’s Cunning Little Vixen, Barbarina in Le Nozze di Figaro, and the Sandman in Hansel and Gretel to name a few. Mrs. Onstad received her Master of Music in Voice at Shenandoah Conservatory and her Bachelor of Music in Voice at Concordia College-Moorhead, MN. She currently studies with Canadian Baritone, Michael Meraw and coaches with Timothy Steele and Nathan Troup. For more information please visit www.mary-alexandraonstad.net.
