Kristin Okerlund Masterclass Series: Free Professional Training for Singers

The transition from vocal training to a sustainable professional career is difficult. Singers often face high coaching costs, fragmented career guidance, and limited access to experienced mentors and professional networks. The Kristin Okerlund Masterclass Series helps close these gaps through tuition-free, artist-centered training for emerging and mid-career singers.

Named in memory of pianist and vocal coach Kristin Okerlund, a longtime Living Opera collaborator, the series carries forward her commitment to rigor, generosity, and individual artistic development. Each masterclass brings a small cohort of singers together with internationally active performers, coaches, and industry specialists for individualized work on vocal technique, breath, resonance, diction, interpretation, and stagecraft. Group sessions and career conversations also address auditions, contracts, recording, media, technology, and the practical demands of sustaining an artistic career.

Active participants receive intensive coaching at no cost, while observers can attend the class, learn from the instruction, join selected group activities, and participate in a career Q&A. This open format extends the program’s benefit beyond the singers on stage and helps build a stronger community of artists, mentors, and audiences.

Gifts of every size support venue and piano rental, accompanists, teaching artists, travel, filming, educational materials, and program administration. A contribution of $15,000 can underwrite one masterclass in a U.S. or Canadian city. Our annual goal of $150,000 supports up to ten masterclasses across multiple cities in North America and internationally.

Your support allows artists to participate based on talent and readiness, not their ability to pay. It gives singers access to the artistic instruction, candid professional guidance, and professional relationships they need to build durable careers.