Teaching Artist Statement
As an educator, I strive to create a learning environment focused on accessibility and structure for my students. As I grow to know my students, I aim to provide them with additional resources to support their individual areas of growth and create a personalized agenda that is conducive to achieving their musical goals. I hold the sincere belief that every human would benefit from singing. Whether it be for fun, for show, or as a career, singing is a mind, body and soul exercise that teaches us about our inner world allowing us to cultivate personal resilience through expression. Much like training for a sport or learning to play chess, singing well is a training process. Helping my students learn the “rules” of singing, train their singing mechanism to strengthen the voice and build vocal stamina, as well as discovering what makes their voice unique, is what I look forward to the most in all my lessons. I look forward to working with you and helping you find your true voice!
Teaching Bio
Olga Valdes has been teaching voice lessons to students of all ages and levels of experience for the past seven years. While earning her master’s degree at New England Conservatory of Music, where she majored in Vocal Performance with a concentration in Vocal Pedagogy, she had the privilege of training under world renown Wagnerian Soprano, Jane Eaglen, as well as one of the world’s leading pedagogues in voice science, Ian Howell. Olga worked as a Private Voice Instructor at New England Conservatory of Music (NEC), and has run her private voice studio online and in person for the past seven years. While at NEC, Olga conducted research on pedagogical techniques focusing on a variety of musical genres and gave lectures on the function of vocal anatomy and healthy singing practices. Olga is also an active National Association of Teachers of Singing member and currently holds committee positions within NATS Boston as well as within the New England Regional Chapter of NATS. Aside from teaching, Olga has enjoyed developing her directorial skills. She has worked as a Director and Assistant Director of opera scenes programs at New England Conservatory of Music, working under Joshua Major, and the Boston Wagner Institute under Jane Eaglen. Olga joined the faculty at SSC in the spring of 2025.
Performance Bio
Soprano, Olga Valdes, currently performs sacred music in the Boston area. During her time at New England Conservatory (NEC), she performed in various opera scenes programs and fully-staged productions (2021-2024) in roles such as Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte, Mrs. Winemiller in Hoiby’s Summer & Smoke, and L’eternita in Cavalli’s La Calisto. During her time at Willamette University in Salem, OR where she earned her bachelor’s degree in music and political science, Olga won titles at the State and Regional NATS competitions for classical voice. She also performed title roles in fully- and semi-staged operatic productions at Willamette University, such as Dido in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Susanna in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, and Annie in a World Premier of Town Hall, by Theo Popov (2016-2020). During her time in Oregon, Olga was a contracted opera chorister for the Portland Opera Company (2017-2020) where she had the opportunity to star in their yearly Big Night concert galas, as well as their 2018 production of Gounod’s Faust. She also worked as a seasonal soloist with the Festival Oregon Chorale under the direction of Solveig Holmquist (2017-2020). Olga joined the faculty at SSC in the spring of 2025.