Best Audiencedevelopment Podcasts (2025)

1
Rise to the Occasion of Your Opera Career with Chandler Johnson, Director of the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program for Singers 40:23

5d ago40:23

40:23

We love an encore! And this one's got it all: audition trends, futurecasting, and pragmatic advice for young opera talent. Key Change co-hosts Anna Garcia and Olga Perez Flora also serve up plenty of musical memories, behind-the-scenes intel, and a little love for the Santa Fe Opera as a venue as they continue their visit with Chandler Johnson. Whe…

1
Taking Care of the Art with Chandler Johnson, Director of the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program for Singers 33:26

12d ago33:26

33:26

Pop quiz: Name an opera training initiative that creates space for self-discovery, serious fun, and a bit of Broadway adoration. Spoiler alert: there’s only one answer. On this episode of Key Change, co-hosts Anna Garcia and Olga Perez Flora get to know Chandler Johnson, Director of Santa Fe Opera’s Apprentice Program for Singers, and uncover what …

1
TEASER: Unlocking Opera Success 0:44

19d ago0:44

0:44

Audition trends, career pivots, and pragmatic advice for young opera talent... It's all coming up in our 2-part series of Key Change with Chandler Johnson, Director of the world renknowned Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program for Singers. *** Key Change is a production of The Santa Fe Opera, Department of Community Engagement & Education. Produced and…

1
Safe Space for Creative Risks with Community Engagement and Education 36:36

1M ago36:36

36:36

Bet you didn’t know that nurturing the next generation of opera performers, technicians, and enthusiasts begins in classrooms. Join Key Change co-hosts Anna Garcia and Olga Perez Flora on an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the Santa Fe Opera Department of Community Engagement and Education, featuring guest appearances by Season 5 favorites Char…

1
TEASER: Community Engagement Pop Quiz [VIDEO] 0:59

1M ago0:59

0:59

What is the minimum age you have to be to start training at the Santa Fe Opera? What are 3 ways you can volunteer at the Santa Fe Opera? What secret do we reveal on Season 6, Episode 2 about our new Director of Community Engagement, Charles Gamble? *** Key Change is a production of The Santa Fe Opera, Department of Community Engagement & Education.…

1
Six Carmens Later & Putting On Productions with Olga Perez Flora and Anna Garcia 47:07

2M ago47:07

47:07

What do disco naps, pantsuits, and chili preferences have to do with life at the opera? If you’re new to the art form in general and Key Change specifically, welcome! And don’t worry, all will be revealed. To our returning fans, a hearty welcome back! We’re excited to share another season and a fresh focus with you. Back to that opening inquiry... …

1
TEASER: Welcoming our new co-host! [VIDEO] 0:51

2M ago0:51

0:51

Coming up on Season 6, Episode 1 of Key Change... *** Key Change is a production of The Santa Fe Opera, Department of Community Engagement & Education. Produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios Hosted by Anna Garcia & Olga Perez Flora Audio Engineering: Collin Ungerleider & Kabby at Kabby Sound Studios in Santa Fe Techn…

1
Season 6: Nurturing the Next Generation of Artists 1:08

2M ago1:08

1:08

What does it take to build a rewarding and sustainable career in opera? What happens when you realize you don’t really have the drive to BE an opera singer? How do you find the courage to take more creative risks in your own work and life? The answers to these questions and more on Key Change Season 6 from the Santa Fe Opera Department of Community…

1
Season 6: Nurturing the Next Generation of Artists [VIDEO] 0:54

2M ago0:54

0:54

What does it take to build a rewarding and sustainable career in opera? What happens when you realize you don’t really have the drive to BE an opera singer? How do you find the courage to take more creative risks in your own work and life? The answers to these questions and more on Key Change Season 6 from the Santa Fe Opera Department of Community…

1
An Opportunity to Encounter Excellence (and Big News!) 42:35

5M ago42:35

42:35

We’ve arrived at the end, or the beginning, depending on how you mark time. Key Change co-hosts Andrea Fellows Fineberg and Anna Garcia close out this podcast season with an epic career coda and an equally impressive introduction. Join us as we say farewell (but not goodbye) to Andrea and welcome Olga Perez Flora, DMA, Associate Professor of Voice,…

1
What’s Opera to a Bunch of High School Students? Young Voices, “The New Crop” 37:53

6M ago37:53

37:53

One of the greatest gifts you can offer a teen is confidence. The other? A process for refining that raw self-assurance into an impressive talent and invaluable life skill. But where to start? At the beginning, of course! Join Key Change co-hosts Andrea Fellows Fineberg and Anna Garcia as they happily infiltrate Orientation Day for the Young Voices…

1
Points Unknown: Exploring Our Relationship To Otherness Through The Pigeon Keeper 41:05

10M ago41:05

41:05

To workshop a new opera in front of an audience is a little like agreeing to a trust fall: at some point, you’ve just got to surrender to the unknown and… trust. Andrea Fellows Fineberg and Anna Garcia return to the orchestral workshop for The Pigeon Keeper, a collaboration between Santa Fe Opera’s Opera For All Voices (OFAV) initiative and the Uni…

1
Music Born Out of a Modern Experience: The Pigeon Keeper Orchestral Workshop 37:26

11M ago37:26

37:26

It takes a village - and multiple revisions! - to mount a modern, original opera. Key Change co-hosts Andrea Fellows Fineberg and Anna Garcia journey to an orchestral workshop for The Pigeon Keeper, a first for Opera For All Voices (OFAV)! Imagine a stage filled with an eight-member student orchestra, four principal singers, and a women's chorus. D…

1
From Gardening to Greeting Guests, Volunteers Run the World! with Marissa Aurora, Artist & Volunteer Liaison 25:49

12M ago25:49

25:49

Cue the lights! It’s time to illuminate a vital yet often invisible component of life at Santa Fe Opera: volunteerism. Key Change co-hosts Andrea Fellows Fineberg and Anna Garcia chatted with Marissa Aurora, Santa Fe Opera’s volunteer liaison, on Marissa's first anniversary in the role. And what a year it’s been! Marissa, a multi-discipline artist …

1
Harmony in Process: The Young Voices of the Santa Fe Opera with Amy "Process" Owens 40:53

12M ago40:53

40:53

What does an award-winning, multi-disciplinary artist, dynamic educator, and former Sweet Potato do for an encore? She brings that boundless energy and collaborative spirit to her new Santa Fe Opera role, fueled by a deep passion for opera and music education. Co-hosts Andrea Fellows Fineberg and Anna Garcia roll out a virtual red carpet welcome fo…

1
Making Learning Sticky: Creative Compassion for Kids & Educators Through Opera with Charles Gamble 31:36

1y ago31:36

31:36

We're taking an Opera For All Voices-adjacent excursion to the realm of wiggly kiddos, innovative teachers, and fresh vocabulary words, highlighting the power of playful arts integration. Join Key Change co-hosts Andrea Fellows Fineberg and Anna Garcia with special guest Charles Gamble, Santa Fe Opera's Director Of School Programs, as they introduc…

1
The Key Change Time Machine: Reflecting the Times, Speaking to the Human Condition 48:14

1y ago48:14

48:14

It’s all systems go for season five of Key Change! But before we commence with the anniversary celebrations, co-hosts Andrea Fellows Fineberg and Anna Garcia dust off the time machine for a whirlwind tour of seasons past. Think of this episode as part process evaluation––an appraisal of Opera For All Voices (OFAV), the Santa Fe Opera initiative com…

1
Season 5: Stretching The Boundaries Of What Opera Can Be 1:07

1y ago1:07

1:07

It's season 5! This season, we're inviting you, our favorite listeners, on a journey through time and space -- traveling back in time to the origins of Key Change and Opera For All Voices and forward into the future of boundless possibilities. This spring, Andrea Fellows Feinberg and Anna Garcia take you through through the community engagement por…

1
Connections Across Time and Space: Opera in the Cosmos 43:56

2y ago43:56

43:56

Seven years ago, Santa Fe Opera started a conversation that would reverberate throughout American Opera, shaping this celebrated art form into something more reflective of the world in which it's created. Today, Opera For All Voices (OFAV) commissions have surpassed even our wildest storytelling expectations. Key Change co-hosts Andrea Fellows Fine…

1
Competing Interests: How Do You Workshop a New Opera? 48:44

2y ago48:44

48:44

Roadtrip! After many long months of necessary virtual collaboration, the creative team behind The Pigeon Keeper, a Santa Fe Opera Opera For All Voices (OFAV) commission, finally got to spread their wings for an emotional workshop in San Francisco. Key Change co-hosts Andrea Fellows Fineberg and Anna Garcia discover what it was like to have everyone…

1
Hometown to the World Debuts on Broadway 41:23

2y ago41:23

41:23

If a chorus of 12 teens can provide compelling commentary on immigration enforcement from the stage of a venerable performing arts center in Santa Fe, how might ten times that number of voices impact the debate? From a Broadway venue that has welcomed some of the twentieth century’s most influential social justice visionaries? Key Change co-hosts A…

1
Telling Hard Truths 43:45

2y ago43:45

43:45

What do you know about the life and legacy of Fannie Lou Hamer? Chances are, not much. That's about to change. Co-hosts Andrea Fellows Fineberg and Anna Garcia dust off the Key Change time machine for a trip back through time and place to the real-life inspiration for This Little Light of Mine (TLLoM), the modern operatic masterpiece commissioned b…

1
A Day in the Life Before a World Premiere 40:52

2y ago40:52

40:52

It’s October 28, 2022. As a brisk, still night settles over Santa Fe, things are heating up inside The Lensic Performing Arts Center. Longtime opera patrons mingle alongside never opera goers. Soon, the curtain will rise on This Little Light of Mine (TLLoM), a modern operatic masterpiece composed by Chandler Carter with libretto by Diana Solomon-Gl…

1
Spark of Imagination: Generations of the Pueblo Opera Program with Sonja & Seth Martinez 34:51

3y ago34:51

34:51

If you’re unfamiliar with Santa Fe Opera’s Pueblo Opera Program (POP), take a quick journey back in time for part one of this conversation. Go ahead; we’ll wait. In it, you’ll meet Renee Roybal and Claudene A. Martinez, both members of Pueblo of San Ildefonso. The pair recall the early days of POP and the formation of the Pueblo Opera Cultural Coun…

1
Story With Purpose: The Origin of the Pueblo Opera Cultural Council with Renee Roybal and Claudene A. Martinez 40:11

3y ago40:11

40:11

All aboard the Key Change time machine for a two-part trip! On this half of the journey, we toggle back to the origins of a beloved community-based program and then forward to celebrate its exciting expansion. 2023 will mark the 50th anniversary of the Pueblo Opera Program, lovingly known around the Santa Fe Opera as POP. Key Change commemorates th…

1
In a Room Making Music With People: The Pigeon Keeper with Stephanie Fleischmann and David Hanlon 38:50

3y ago38:50

38:50

Hurry up and wait. When your world premier is stopped in its tracks by forces beyond your control, “momentum” is measured a bit differently. Andrea Fellows Fineberg chats with composer David Hanlon and librettist Stephanie Fleischmann, the creative duo behind The Pigeon Keeper, about maintaining artistic progress during the pandemic, the limits of …

1
Influence and Inclusion: The Impact of Hometown To The World with Estevan, Ely, and Francesco of the Youth Chorus 37:57

3y ago37:57

37:57

You’ve heard of main character energy? Well, get ready for youth chorus energy! Andrea Fellows-Fineberg connects with an optimistic, pragmatic, and empathetic mindset courtesy of the youth chorus members who participated in the December 2021 world premiere of Opera For All Voices’ Hometown To The World. Their insights and post-performance emotion s…

1
This Doesn’t Happen Without Audience: The Hometown To The World Premiere 37:08

3y ago37:08

37:08

When an initiative is called Opera For All Voices, who’s the “all”? Key Change Season Four examines OFAV’s burgeoning legacy of co-creating new operatic works through a community-centric lens, beginning with an OG favorite, Hometown To The World. Host Andrea Fellows-Fineberg revisits the production with core members of its artistic team, young perf…

1
Season 4: The Voices of the Community 1:06

3y ago1:06

1:06

Opera. Change is in the air. These are the stories of Opera For All Voices, its continuing mission to seek out more voices, to explore other ways of sharing story, to boldly go where opera has yet to get. In January of 2016, we started a conversation with opera companies across the country about how to create nimble new works that would resonate mo…

1
0308: Bridging Communities with Carmen Flórez-Mansi 43:54

3+ y ago43:54

43:54

At its heart, Hometown To The World is a simple story of hope set amongst the emotionally complicated aftermath of a 2008 Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid in Postville, IA––the largest ever in US history. It’s fitting, then, that host Andrea Fellows-Fineberg and her guest Chorus Master Carmen Flórez-Mansi close out this season of Key Change…

1
0307: Lighting a Fire: The Legacy of Fannie Lou Hamer 54:59

3+ y ago54:59

54:59

To appreciate the life and legacy of civil rights icon Fannie Lou Hamer is to speak truth to power and unite in song. In June of 2021, Opera For All Voices did just that, hosting an online workshop of This Little Light Of Mine, the one-act opera commissioned by Santa Fe Opera, composed by Chandler Carter with a libretto by Diana Solomon-Glover, in …

1
0306: Building a Better Society with Florida International University Music Students 45:09

3+ y ago45:09

45:09

When you name an initiative Opera For All Voices (OFAV), it better have the “all voices” to back that claim up! In the first of a series of guest-hosted episodes, Andrea passes the mic to the remarkable young talents making Is This America? their own. But before she does, Andrea reminds listeners of what OFAV is all about: telling stories for our t…

1
0305: Making a Choice With Conviction: A Conversation with Jeri Lynne Johnson 37:38

4y ago37:38

37:38

"When people talk about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, that's art." ~Jeri Lynne Johnson Near the end of last year’s contentious presidential campaign, opera and activism joined forces on the deck of a moored oil tanker to ask audiences how does democracy function and for whom does it function? In the wake of that election, artists’ re…

1
0304: Singing a Call To Action, Is This America? 44:12

4y ago44:12

44:12

How do artists lend their talents in support of social change when they’re literally and figuratively stifled by a global pandemic? They do as voting rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer did in 1964: they find a way to make their voices heard. Andrea Fellows Fineberg takes listeners on a short trip with maximum impact. Travel back to the autumn of 2020…

1
0303: Responding to the World, Hometown to the World 30:18

4y ago30:18

30:18

Immigration. Racism. Religion. Some themes are ever present in our society. In this episode, Key Change host Andrea Fellows Fineberg puts the time machine through its paces, capturing the artistic evolution that brought one of the first Opera for All Voices commissions to the stage...sort of. With wrenching plot twists worthy of La Traviata and mor…

1
0302: Interpreting Ambiguity, Sweet Potato Kicks the Sun 30:10

4y ago30:10

30:10

A hummingbird, a beatboxer, and a sweet potato walk into a theatre… We should probably mention the bees, the dog, the squirrel, the baby pigeons, and a few woodpeckers, too. These are some of the creatures that inhabit the magical garden community of Sweet Potato Kicks the Sun, and in 2019, they lit up the stage performing opera in Santa Fe, New Me…

1
0301: Dreaming of Opera... 25:20

4y ago25:20

25:20

Key Change is back for Season 3! Hold on… Some things have changed around here; some things have changed everywhere. What happens when a global pandemic upends your well-crafted plans? How does art respond within the confines of social distancing? Where’s Brandon?! Don’t worry, all will be revealed. To better understand where Opera for All Voices (…

1
Season 3: What now? 2:30

4+ y ago2:30

2:30

It doesn't seem that long ago, and yet... Remember when we used to gather in a theater with hundreds of other people to see a live show? Remember how that felt? The excitement? The anticipation? In this Season 3 trailer, we listen back to comments from our expectant audience recorded minutes before the world premiere of our first Opera for All Voic…

1
BONUS: Is This America? 36:02

4+ y ago36:02

36:02

For opera to remain vibrant, its stories must reflect a multitude of experiences, and its productions must adapt to unconventional spaces. Both characteristics were in full effect on October 10, 2020, when OFAV (Opera for All Voices), in association with PortSide New York, staged a performance of Is This America? on the deck of an oil tanker docked…

1
0209: America Is Impossible Without Us: Revisiting Hometown to the World 29:00

6y ago29:00

29:00

"There's a multi-layered contract from creator to interpreter to audience, and everybody has to actively participate to make a work come to life." ~Laura Kaminsky, composer of Hometown to the World One of the hallmarks of the Opera for All Voices commissioning process is workshopping the new operas with a team of dedicated artists and a live audien…

1
0208: Gender is Not Genre: women in opera 32:32

6y ago32:32

32:32

"Relationships are infrastructure." ~Andrea Fellows Walters Of the 100 busiest conductors in classical music only for are female. A list of the 150 composers whose work is most often performed includes only one woman, and women comprise approximately 35% of soloists in opera. Of the 10 productions on the list of the most performed operas in 2017-20…

1
0207: Mother of a Movement: This Little Light of Mine inspired by the life of Fannie Lou Hamer 35:03

6y ago35:03

35:03

"There is no distinction between art and life. Art is the way we express life and life is the way we express art. " ~Diana Solomon-Glover, librettist Fannie Lou Hamer rose from humble beginnings in the Mississippi Delta to become one of the most important, passionate and powerful voices of the civil and voting rights movement. She became a leader i…

1
0206: The Universe is Made of Stories: A conversation with Peter Sellars 28:55

6y ago28:55

28:55

"Every single thing in the world is made of stories, and the story creates the moral energy of the universe where the question of right and wrong you learned from a story. And in this period, particularly when we're living in a world so polarized and people are so extreme and so vicious in their reaction to stuff, you can't tell anyone anything. Bu…

1
0205: The Audacity of Storytelling: bringing us from another to each other 32:44

6y ago32:44

32:44

"The more we get to know one another through our stories, the closer we come together as a community, as a nation, as a world... and as you start to dissect many operas, you're really telling the story of the delicacy and strength of the human condition." ~Dr. Estevan Rael-Gálvez We invited some of our favorite storytellers to talk to us about the …

1
0204: Hope Is the Thing With Feathers: a first look at The Pigeon Keeper 28:07

6y ago28:07

28:07

"Opera is like one of the transporting art forms... transporting you to these hidden secrets places like in yourself that are otherwise inaccessible." ~David Hanlon, composer Andrea takes a deep dive into the creative process behind creating a new opera with composer David Hanlon and librettist Stephanie Fleischmann. Fresh from the New York librett…

1
0203: Bring Your Folding Chair: Equity, diversity, inclusion and opera - Part 2 41:09

6y ago41:09

41:09

"If they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” ~Shirley Chisholm We take a moment to dream with members of the opera community across departments about what a more equitable, diverse and inclusive opera industry will look, feel, and sound like. Beyond that, we take a practical look at things that are working and things that pe…

1
0202: A Seat at the Table: Equity, diversity, inclusion and opera - Part 1 39:21

6y ago39:21

39:21

Equity, diversity, and inclusion: it's a phrase that's at the forefront of many industries at the moment, and opera is no different. What do those words really mean and how do they relate to the forward momentum of our art form? This conversation is at the heart of what Opera for All Voices is about and we're going deep into the struggles, the uphi…

1
0201: Press Play: A closer look at our first commission Sweet Potato Kicks the Sun 30:02

6y ago30:02

30:02

Andrea Fellows Walters and Brandon Neal are back with Season 2! Sweet Potato Kicks the Sun, our first commission for Opera for All Voices, gets a closer listen with a live audience. Hopping back in our OFAV time machine, we travel to September 2018 Chicago. Sweet Potato had a live workshop with invited audience and we had a rare opportunity to find…

1
Season 2: Seeing yourself in opera 2:57

6y ago2:57

2:57

This season, it's time to dig a little deeper. Exploring the future of opera in America and telling new stories with Opera for All Voices. Season 2 drops April 10th, 2019. Subscribe now to be the first to listen! *** Key Change is a production of The Santa Fe Opera in collaboration with Opera for All Voices. Produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at…

1
Key Change Season 2 Preview 1:05

6y ago1:05

1:05

7 American opera companies, 4 new commissions, 2 workshops... Opera for All Voices is back with Season 2 of Key Change! Andrea Fellows Walters and Brandon Neal take you on a journey behind the scenes of commissioning new opera, reaching new audiences and supporting emerging artists. This season, we're digging even deeper into the most compelling to…

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