Cynthia Urquiaga

2023 Opera Camper

"This past summer, I had the incredible opportunity to attend the Maryland Opera Summer Camp, which allowed me to embody the qualities of being resourceful, a good problem solver, and a contributor of ideas.  Over a two week period, I was able to work with professional opera singers and composers, a costume desgner, a makeup/wig artist, and other young artists like myself.  I participated in group classes to work on my acting, dancing, and singing.  Other opportunities included getting professional feedback in opera or voice coaching during master classes.  Along with this, I participated in a composition class, where I needed to write an original song and perform it later on the last day of camp in an opera written by me and my peers.  I found that throughout the camp, my biggest struggle was writing and composing music.  Initially, I struggled with starting and finding ideas for my song, which not only had to fit the theme of "Rising to the occasion," but also be fully written in a week because of the short time frame of the camp.  I had never attempted writing my own music, so to begin I looked for inspiration from other songs I had sung or heard before as a starting point.  After creating a first draft, I used feedback from my peers and collaborated with the camp's composer.  I made changes to my song and had it fully completed in the necessary time.  With the remaining week at camp, I staged my song and created my own costume from clothes and materials I already had.  I performed my original song for my family and friends, and the relatives of the other campers.  My experience of writing music at Opera Camp changed me for the better and allowed me to get out of my comfort zone in a way I never had before.  Because the camp was only two weeks, it forced me to be resourceful and work quickly under pressure to create something original to be performed in front of my friends and family.  I had to problem solve and collaborate with people who had been strangers to me only weeks ago to create a smooth, good quality performance.  We gave each other feedback and ideas constantly in order to improve not only our show, but also our individual performances.  Being around and bonding with other artists like me, allowed me to listen to different voices and grow, but also gave me more confidence on voicing my own opinions.."