The 19-year-old California born soprano Tiara Abraham has achieved the distinction of becoming one of the youngest opera singers accepted to the prestigious Aspen Music Festival in Aspen, Colorado.
One of opera’s most promising rising young talents, Abraham has been selected as a Studio Artist Fellow in the highly competitive Aspen Opera Theater and Vocal Arts (AOTVA) program at the world-renowned Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS).
The gifted young artist is a second-year doctoral student in vocal performance at Indiana University’s prestigious Jacobs School of Music, where she studies classical voice under Grammy-winning mezzo-soprano and Metropolitan Opera star, Prof. Michelle DeYoung.
The Renée Fleming and Studio Artists selected for summer 2026 will study in the AMFS’s ground-breaking opera training program led by world-renowned soprano Renee Fleming and Patrick Summers, Artistic and Music Director of the Houston Grand Opera.
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AOTVA offers uniquely complete training for young singers for a future in the opera and classical music industry. For the 2026 season, 15 Fleming Artists and 17 Studio Artists were selected from a highly competitive pool of more than 700 applicants.
Making her debut at the AOTVA program, the only student from the Jacobs School of Music, Tiara will train intensively in opera and classical voice performance under the mentorship of celebrated artists, directors, and coaches.
Adding to her list of accomplishments this year, Tiara was awarded First Place and a $4,000 prize in the distinguished George Shirley Vocal Competition at Michigan, in May.
Named after the legendary tenor George Shirley, the first African American tenor to sing a leading role at the Metropolitan Opera, the competition honors excellence in classical music and celebrates the works of African American composers.
Praised for her bell-like clarity, agile coloratura, and expressive acting, she has performed globally, including at Carnegie Hall, the Vatican, Musikverein, and on national TV and NPR.
Her roles include Zerlina in Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni, Belinda in Purcell’s opera Dido and Aeneas, Susanna in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Hero in Berlioz’s Béatrice et Bénédict, Miles in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, and The Bat in Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges.
Tiara returned to her home state after being invited as the soprano soloist in Bach’s Magnificat at the Mondavi Center, a stage that has hosted celebrated artists such as Renée Fleming, Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, Zakir Hussain, and Anoushka Shankar.
Beyond her achievements on stage, Tiara also served as an Associate Instructor at Indiana University, Bloomington for the Fall semester, where she taught two undergraduate courses in foundational vocal techniques.
A California Senate resolution is also set to recognize her exceptional achievements in vocal performance, academics, and community service, and for serving as an exemplary role model for the youth of California and the nation, making her one of the youngest individuals to receive such a distinction.