Program Overview

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Professional Diploma in Opera

Program Description

The Professional Diploma in Opera is a one-year (three semester) program designed for career-oriented opera singers or pianists looking to join a company or production. The program helps hone audition skills and prepares young artists for professional opera opportunities.

Expert Training and Individualized Support

Students receive intensive, individualized instruction through weekly lessons and coachings with CCPA’s renowned voice and opera faculty (for singers) or collaborative piano (for pianists). The curriculum emphasizes audition preparation, with regular mock auditions before panels of industry professionals. Singers and pianists work closely together in a supportive, professional environment that mirrors the demands of the opera field, immersing students in a variety of performance formats, strengthening stage presence, communication, and readiness for the professional audition circuit.

Professional Development

The program is designed to bridge the gap between conservatory training and the professional world. Students receive tailored guidance in curating audition packages, personalized career planning, and they develop essential career materials, including résumés, headshots, bios, and digital portfolios. Additional offerings include voice-over technique, business skills for performing artists, and personal marketing/branding consultations. Participants have the opportunity to record high-quality pre-screen videos with CCPA’s in-house engineers in the acoustically stunning Ganz Hall.

Performance Opportunities

The Professional Diploma in Opera offers select performance and presentation experiences that build both artistry and professional confidence. These include:

• Songs@Six, a curated art song series presented in partnership with the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago
• Dramatic Coaching Culminating Project, showcasing students’ interpretive and theatrical growth
• Weekly Audition Seminars, offering live performance opportunities with real-time feedback from faculty and industry professionals
• CCPA Solo Competition and Aeolian Classics Competition, providing high-profile platforms for emerging artists

Admission Info

Application

Please submit the following materials:

• Résumé (one page)
• List of two references and contact information, one of which must be a current or recent teacher, conductor or coach;
• A brief essay (no more than one page in length) describing your current educational and career goals, using the following questions to help us know more about you:
  1. How do you hope the Professional Diploma in Opera program will help you prepare to meet your goals?
  2. What experience are you seeking from this one-year program?
  3. As a Professional Diploma in Opera student, how might you seek to contribute to a culture of collaboration and community at CCPA and Roosevelt University?

Audition

Live audition date (not required): June 20, 2025
Recorded submissions due: June 21, 2025

Singers

Please prepare two selections traditionally performed live with piano or orchestra. At least one selection must be an aria from operatic or oratorio repertoire; the other selection may consist of any repertoire (arias included) that reflects your individual educational or career goals.

Singers may choose to submit their audition via video recording or to attend a live-audition date at Roosevelt University’s downtown Chicago campus. A pianist will be provided for live auditions.

Pianists

Please prepare the following repertoire:

• One operatic aria by Handel, Mozart or a contemporary
• One operatic aria by a composer associated with the or late-Romantic schools
• One operatic aria composed after 1960

Pianists may choose to submit their audition via video recording or to attend a live-audition date at Roosevelt University’s downtown Chicago campus. For live auditions, singers will be provided upon request.

Course Details

Program Length: Three semesters

Summer (5 weeks): 6 credit hours
Fall (14 weeks): 6 credit hours
Spring (14 weeks): 6 credit hours

Summer 2025 Session

July 7-August 9, 2025

Courses

• VOI 451 Applied Voice Lessons (singers) or PIA 451 Applied Piano Lessons (pianists)
• PERF 478 Opera Vocal Coaching (singers) or PERF 462 Practicum in Vocal Collaboration (pianists)
• PERF 488 Dramatic Coaching of Opera Repertory
• PERF 420 Seminar: Professional Topics in Opera

Fall Session 2025

August 25-December 6

Courses

• VOI 452 Applied Voice Lessons (singers) or PIA 452 Applied Piano Lessons (pianists)
• PERF 478 Opera Vocal Coaching (singers)or PERF 462 Practicum in Vocal Collaboration (pianists)
• PERF 488 Dramatic Coaching of Opera Repertory
• PERF 420 Seminar: Professional Topics in Opera

Spring Session 2026

January 20-May 3

Courses

• VOI 453 Applied Voice Lessons (singers) or PIA 453 Applied Piano Lessons (pianists)
• Opera Vocal Coaching (singers) or Practicum in Vocal Collaboration (pianists)
• PERF 488 Dramatic Coaching of Opera Repertory
• PERF 420 Seminar: Professional Topics in Opera

All 3 semesters will include weekly activity time for:

• Voice/piano lessons
• Practicum in vocal coaching/vocal collaboration for piano
• Dramatic coaching
• Professional topics in opera

Career Opportunities

With a focus on bridging the gap between training and the professional stage, this program prepares singers and pianists to launch their careers with confidence.

Meet Your Faculty

• Shannon McGinnis
• Mark Crayton
• Rebecca Schorsch
• Elizabeth Asher
• Evan Bravos
• Allan Glassman
• Keanon Kyles
• Dana Brown