Megan Ihnen
Host of Studio Class
Megan Ihnen is a mezzo-soprano on a mission to change the world through the commissioning, performance, and proliferation of new music. She has collaborated with individuals and ensembles around the globe including: International Contemporary Ensemble, Fifth House Ensemble, Great Noise Ensemble, Rhymes With Opera, and Synchromy. She is deeply committed to the belief that new music should be performed and loved in communities of all sizes. Megan’s advocacy for music and musicians extends beyond the performance stage. She also effects change as a non-profit arts coach and consultant. She is currently the executive director of the Live Music Project which advocates for connecting people with live early music, classical, and new music experiences in a way that strengthens community, celebrates listener agency, and amplifies local arts resources. You have also likely interacted with her work for Nief-Norf, New Music USA, and many individual artists throughout classical and new music. Megan’s work at the intersection of performance, creative placemaking, audience development, and music entrepreneurship is a delight to her clients and colleagues.
Megan Ihnen has hosted 109 Episodes.
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Episode 109: Micro Action Monday - Improve your tenacity
October 16th, 2023 | 19 mins 28 secs
arts coaching, classical singing, micro actions, music business
"Simply put, tenacity gives you the confidence and courage to 'find a way' even if you don't currently know 'how' you'll do it." That and more in this Micro Action Monday episode which is all about improving your tenacity and being a tenacious creative professional.
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Episode 108: Micro Action Monday - Get asked back
October 2nd, 2023 | 16 mins 35 secs
arts coaching, classical singing, micro actions, music business
Megan discusses how to get hired back and why you’ll want to show gratitude today for the working relationships in your past that have been spectacular.
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Episode 107: Micro Action Monday - Be a better sight-reader
September 25th, 2023 | 11 mins 41 secs
arts coaching, classical singing, micro actions, music business, sight-reading, sight-singing, solfege
In this Micro Action Monday episode, Megan discusses how to incorporate more sight-reading and sight-singing and why you’ll want to invest some time in having a system for pitches and intervals today.
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Episode 106: Micro Action Monday - Get new headshots
September 11th, 2023 | 13 mins 27 secs
arts coaching, classical singing, micro actions, music business
In this Micro Action Monday episode we're focusing on capturing your best self through your headshots. Megan dives into the importance of updating your headshots as a key aspect of personal and professional branding. She discusses how a fresh set of headshots can make a significant impact on your online presence and how to go about scheduling a photoshoot. Whether you're an actor, musician, entrepreneur, or simply looking to refresh your social media profiles, this episode provides actionable insights to help you put your best face forward.
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Episode 105: Micro Action Monday - Diversify your income
September 4th, 2023 | 17 mins 18 secs
arts coaching, classical singing, micro actions, music business
This Micro Action Monday episode focuses on what it means to diversify your income streams and why it's crucial in today's ever-changing economy especially for those of us who live professionally creative lives.
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Episode 104: Masterclass - Fabiana Claure
August 28th, 2023 | 47 mins 40 secs
arts coaching, classical singing, fabiana claure, micro actions, music business
Fabiana creates financial and artistic prosperity for musicians so they can stop trading time for money and create lifestyle-aligned businesses where they have the freedom to work on their own time, with complete location freedom, without sacrificing their quality time with their families and artistic dreams. As a concert pianist and business strategist for musicians, Fabiana has helped thousands of musicians build, grow, and scale their businesses into online premium music programs that run on autopilot.
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Episode 103: Masterclass - Ann McMahon Quintero
August 21st, 2023 | 1 hr 5 mins
arts coaching, classical singing, interview, masterclass, micro actions, music business
"Praised for her evocative interpretations of oratorio and opera, Ann McMahon Quintero has filled the 2022/23 season with new works and old favorites. She joins Boston Baroque and Alabama Symphony for Messiah, Charleston Symphony for Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky Cantata, and performs in the world premiere of Ghosts with San Diego Opera in the role of Yadira."
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Episode 102: Masterclass - Jason Nitsch
July 24th, 2023 | 1 hr 12 mins
arts coaching, classical singing, composer, jason nitsch, micro actions, music business
Jason Nitsch is a composer for the concert stage, feature and short films, and other media. In the world of podcasting, he is the writer, producer, and composer for Beyond the Belt: Adventures from the Outer Rim, a science fiction drama podcast with a dedicated cult following. In the film world, he has scored the short film Passing By directed by David M. Chandler, Edward J. Delaney’s feature length documentary Library of the Early Mind, and the celebrated horror short Bedtime produced by Joint Concept Productions.
He has released multiple albums, including Poem at the End of the World, The Season 1 and 2 Soundtracks from Beyond the Belt: Adventures from the Outer Rim, and most recently the chamber music anthology 1000 Steps to Nowhere. His music has been published by several prominent publishers, including Excelcia Music, T.U.X. People’s Music, FJH Music, and Randall Standridge Music.
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Episode 101: Masterclass - Kerriann Otaño
July 17th, 2023 | 53 mins 59 secs
arts coaching, classical singing, interview, masterclass, micro actions, music business
Kerriann Otaño is the Vice President of Engagement at America’s 11th oldest opera company, OperaDelaware. Originally from Long Island, New York, Kerriann studied at the Verdi Conservatorio in Milan, Italy, before receiving her Bachelors degree from Indiana University and her Masters from Mannes the New School for Music. Kerriann sang opera professionally for 10 years, performing at Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opera San Jose, and Wolf Trap Opera. She is featured on Naxos album Bernstein: Songfest with Wolf Trap Opera. Kerriann began her transition into administration in 2019 after a mental health crisis, and she prides herself on her advocacy for artists and audiences across the country.
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Episode 100: Masterclass - Chelsea Hollow
July 10th, 2023 | 1 hr 4 mins
arts coaching, classical singing, interview, masterclass, micro actions, music business
Chelsea Hollow “has rewritten the book on the potential of musical activism," curating & commissioning solo recitals based on activist texts as well as exploring ways to make traditional opera exciting to new audiences. In recognition of this work, she presented on Art and Activism (2021) for the United Nations’ Office of Human Rights. In April 2023, Chelsea released her debut album Cycles of Resistance with Aerocade Music, featuring 22 of her commissions chronicling examples of human resilience in Mandarin, Dutch, Turkish, Arabic, Sanskrit, and Czech in addition to English. She is known for her “soaring high range” and “stage panache!” premiering new operatic works and singing traditional roles such as Queen of the Night, Zerbinetta, and Olympia.
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Episode 99: Masterclass - Peyee Chen
May 30th, 2023 | 1 hr 13 mins
arts coaching, classical singing, micro actions, music business, peyee chen
An omnivore when it comes to performing, soprano Peyee Chen enjoys singing Monteverdi with lute and
bass viol as much as singing Bernhard Lang with electronics and electric bass. Up for physical challenges,
she has performed with poet Caroline Bergvall on her Raga Dawn series, outdoors and starting before
sunrise. She is interested in vocal and physical improvisation, DIY electronic instruments, and installation
and performance art, recently performing in Martin Creed’s exhibition at Hauser & Wirth’s London gallery,
where she sang music by Martin for 30 minutes every hour, eight hours a day, two or three days each week
for six weeks. -
Episode 93: Masterclass - Pamela Stein Lynde
May 22nd, 2023 | 1 hr 2 mins
arts coaching, classical singing, micro actions, music business, vocal pedagogy
Praised for her “rich dramatics” (The Boston Globe) and called "Magnificent" by Fanfare Magazine, Pamela Stein Lynde is a versatile singer, composer, choral conductor and music educator. As a singer, Pamela has built a career working with contemporary composers of all levels, from students to internationally recognized artists. As an educator, Pamela has taught, lectured, and given master classes at universities and conservatories across the country.
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Episode 98: Masterclass - Whitney George
May 15th, 2023 | 1 hr 2 mins
arts coaching, classical singing, composition, micro actions, music business, opera
Whitney George’s music traverses the affective terrain between tragedy and ecstasy, fragility and strength, bringing together romantically delicate intimacy and the spectacular darkness of the macabre. Haunted by ghosts and/of love, George’s operas, staged multimedia works, and chamber music coloristically explore the mysteries of irrationality, nightmare, and memory, sonically seeking lost objects and hidden subjects. Given George’s theatrical inclinations and preoccupation with the tragic, she has turned again and again to opera as both a composer and conductor. Recently, George has been awarded a number of operatic commissions, premieres, and recognition: in 2017; the Elebash Award for her orchestration of Gideon’s opera Fortunato, which premiered under George’s baton in May 2019. In the same year; the commission of the two-act opera Princess Maleine by dell'Arte and the video opera Julie by New Camerata which was publicly released in 2020. This 2023 season, Fresh Squeezed commissions Fizz & Ginger, an immersive jazz experience, and the second operatic endeavor with libretitst Bea Goodwin. George is the artistic director and conductor of The Curiosity Cabinet, a chamber orchestra formed in 2009. She holds degrees from the California Institute of the Arts (2008), Brooklyn College (2010), and the CUNY Graduate Center (2021).
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Episode 97: Masterclass - Jenni Bank
May 8th, 2023 | 58 mins 4 secs
arts coaching, classical singing, micro actions, music business, opera
Jenni Bank was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, grew up in Binghamton, New York, & studied at Peabody Conservatory. She has worked with Seattle Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Chicago Lyric Opera, New York City Opera, Anchorage Opera, Opera Delaware, Des Moines Metro Opera, Florentine Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Tri-Cities Opera, Knoxville Opera, Hawaii Opera Theatre, Bard Summer Music Festival, Ash Lawn Opera, Amarillo Opera, Baltimore Concert Opera, Annapolis Opera, Mid-America Productions at Carnegie Hall, Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Bergen Filharmoniske Orkester, Seoul Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, & the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
Performances include Marcellina (Marriage of Figaro), Samira (Ghosts of Versailles), Mrs. De Rocher (Dead Man Walking), The Mother (The Consul), 3rd Lady (Magic Flute), Ruth (Pirates of Penzance), Buttercup (H.M.S. Pinafore), Mrs. Twist (Brokeback Mountain), Emilia (Otello), Mrs. Lovett (Sweeney Todd), Mary (Flying Dutchman), Old Lady (Candide), Mrs. Peachum (Threepenny Opera), Golde (Fiddler on the Roof), Azucena (Il Trovatore), Witch (Hänsel und Gretel), Quickly (Falstaff), Dryad (Ariadne auf Naxos), Frugola (Il Tabarro), Principessa (Suor Angelica), Zita (Gianni Schicchi), Martha (Faust), Giulietta (Hoffmann), Marquise (Daughter of the Regiment), Petra (A Little Night Music), Fairy Queen (Iolanthe), Katisha (The Mikado), Filipyevna (Eugene Onegin), Verdi Requiem, Mozart Requiem, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, & Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. She is the leading interpreter of the Duchess in Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland, created the role of Firdaus Noman in Shalimar The Clown & is featured on the Cast Recording, won the Sullivan Foundation Award, is a Metropolitan Opera Competition semi-finalist, & is the Artistic Advisor for Tri-Cities Opera. Jenni is also the Analysis Operations Team Lead at the fast-growing tech startup DoWhatWorks and lives in Upstate New York with her husband and two adorable dogs (@theharleyandeo on instagram). Find Jenni at www.JenniBank.com & @jenni_bank. There's so much more to discover about Jenni's career! Take a listen to this Masterclass episode to learn more!
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Episode 96: Masterclass - Maggie Finnegan
May 1st, 2023 | 1 hr 1 min
arts coaching, classical singing, micro actions, music business
We are so thrilled to welcome soprano Maggie Finnegan to be a Masterclass guest on the Studio Class Podcast. Soprano Maggie Finnegan has been hailed by Opera News for her “clear, poised and defiant soprano” and the Washington Post for her “silvery, pitch-perfect voice." Maggie Finnegan (she/her) is a versatile soprano, singing repertoire spanning from medieval to contemporary.
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Episode 95: Masterclass - Kathleen Kelly
February 6th, 2023 | 1 hr 17 mins
arts coaching, classical singing, micro actions, music business
Kathleen Kelly’s projects and repertoire are wide-ranging and diverse. From Mozart to commissioned works by her peers, she is both deeply experienced in the classical vocal canon and engaged in new creation. Recent notable projects include a recording with soprano Emily Albrink - which we’ll reference in this episode, leading the world premiere of Matt Bohler’s opera FAT PIG (composed for activist soprano Tracy Cox), and the filmed opera Interstate, composed by Kamala Sankaram, co-authored and performed by Kathleen and soprano Jennifer Cresswell, produced by Minnesota Opera.
Kathleen has appeared internationally as a pianist in collaboration with singers including appearances at incredible and top tier venues around the world. She has worked with many companies including the San Francisco, Metropolitan, Houston Grand, and Vienna State Operas, and she is regularly invited to speak and write on womens’ issues in the opera industry.