Tatiana Ogan

Tatiana is a talented young mezzo-soprano. At 20 it is impossible to tell whether she will become a singer like Frederica von Stade or evolve into an exceptional soprano. Her job this summer will be to learn how best to sing with the voice she has now. Meanwhile, she has enrolled in a month long German course in Schwäbisch Hall, Germany to prepare for TOP. If she could bottle her work ethic, she would be a millionaire!

When I was 6 years old, my mom took me to a dance workshop that offered everything from Ballet to Flamenco to Hula. Resisting my mother’s wish that I become a ballerina, I fell in love with high energy of Irish Dancing. That was the beginning of eight years of competition and performance all over the U.S, Canada, and Europe. The wonderful experiences of those years are the foundation for my love of not just music but of performance. The feeling I have when listening, performing, or playing music is one that cannot be described. It comes from somewhere in the soul. That feeling motivates my singing just as it motivated my dancing.

Singing, like dancing, is an intangible art form because the movement or melody being performed represents something more that its sensory surface. But the emotion and beauty of the music is meaningless without someone to listen. The connection between the performer and the audience makes a seemingly insignificant physical or musical gesture become bigger than life. That connection isn't based on sound waves against the eardrum, fingers on the ivory keys, or the vibrating of vocal chords. It is based on something much deeper.

Sharing my love for music with every audience, listener, or even random observer is my true dream. It is more gratifying and fulfilling that any amount of money or fame could ever be.

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." -Maya Angelou