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Three St. Olaf College music students took their skills far beyond campus — into Italian hill towns, Bulgarian opera houses, and a national Lutheran music festival — testing out what it means to build a life in music onstage, in the classroom, and behind the scenes. 

For Moises Duarte ’27, Obsa Kedir ’26, and Ava Messinger ’26, summer internships and fellowships became laboratories for their future careers as educators, performers, and stage managers — and a way to bring new experiences and perspectives back to the Hill. 

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OBSA KEDIR

As a tenor voice fellow with the Lutheran Summer Music Academy, Kedir spent a month working with more than 100 high school singers from across the country, acting as both a performer and mentor in the program. 

“My official title was the Tenor Voice Fellow, which meant I sang in the festival choir with about 110 high school singers,” he says. “I was the section leader for the tenors. All the tenors in the choir would come to me for any questions regarding the music, and I led sectionals every week.” 

In addition to ensemble work, he performed in two recitals and helped teach voice and conducting classes — experiences that directly connect to his long-term goal of becoming a choral conductor and educator. 

“I wanted to do something that would diversify my skills,” he says. “Not just working with college-aged musicians, but especially working with the age group I’ll likely work with after I get my license, which is high schoolers.”

Balancing singing and teaching required a shift in mindset. In rehearsal, when the conductor gave directions, Kedir often found himself acting as a bridge between the podium and students who were still learning the basics. 

“Some of them were just entering ninth or tenth grade, so they might not know exactly what the conductor means,” he says. “I could reach out during or after rehearsal and say, ‘Here’s how we actually do this, here’s what she wants, and here’s why.’”

The most rewarding part of the summer came from watching students grow in confidence. 

“It’s amazing when you see students finally get a conducting pattern correct or feel confident enough to sing individually,” he says. “It makes you feel good that you helped them get to that point.”

The most challenging part was working with students with very different musical backgrounds and comfort levels. 

“Coming from St. Olaf, it’s easy to be spoiled,” he says with a laugh. “In the Music Department, everyone has a certain baseline of skill. At Lutheran Summer Music, I had to learn patience and remember that not everyone starts from the same place.”

Along the way, he also got a real-world look at the less glamorous side of music education — like moving chairs, risers, and equipment. 

“A lot of times, a conductor is really just the person who moves furniture,” he jokes. “It was good for me to see that side of the work too.”

Looking ahead to graduate study in choral conducting, Kedir says the fellowship gave him a preview of what audition panels and future employers will be looking for. 

“What grad schools are going to ask is: can I teach different levels of singers, in different settings, and be versatile?” he says. “This experience showed me I can do that.”

Kedir’s advice to other St. Olaf students considering similar opportunities is simple: don’t count yourself out. 

“Apply. You never know until you try,” he says. “The music world is small, and you’ll be surprised how connected everything is. You might meet someone who knows someone who can help you get your next internship, fellowship, or even your next school or job.”

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MOISES DUARTE 

For Duarte, summer meant stepping into his first professional opera production — while navigating new countries, languages, and expectations. 

Through the Varna International Music Academy, he spent part of his summer in Varna, Bulgaria, and part in Catania, Asiago, Padua, Verona, and Venice, Italy, performing in productions of Gianni Schicchi, Petite Messe Solennelle, a musical theater program, and a solo recital. He worked under renowned faculty, including conductor Gregory Buchalter of the Metropolitan Opera. 

“When I first got the news I was going to Bulgaria and Italy, I was incredibly excited — but also very nervous,” he says. “It was my first professional opera production outside the very protected environment I’ve had at St. Olaf. “

To prepare, he turned to his St. Olaf mentors: Assistant Professor of Music Wesley Dunnagan and Associate Professor of Music Emery Stephens Jr.

“I went straight to them and started ranting about all my concerns,” he says. “They were very patient. They gave me their scores and helped me prepare during the academic year and even over Zoom while I was abroad. St. Olaf provided a very nice bed to rely on, especially when I was away.”

Once in Europe, the learning curve was steep. He had to learn a large amount of music quickly, collaborate with older singers — many of them doctoral students — and adjust to working with a professional orchestra. 

“In Bulgaria, I didn’t know any of the singers,” he says. “It was basically meet-and-greet, but we also had to get comfortable with one another immediately because we were performing together. It was my first real teaspoon of the professional world.”

One of the most impactful pieces of feedback Duarte received was about learning to fully own his voice as a soloist. A faculty member who had previously taught at St. Olaf, Tammy Hensrud, encouraged him to let go of some of his choral instincts. 

“She told me to let my voice roar,” he says. “The choral tradition at St. Olaf is beautiful and world-renowned, but sometimes it can obstruct the development of a soloistic voice. We worked on exercises to let go of the choral mind and expand myself on stage.”

Buchalter also pushed him to bring his full self into his roles.

“He didn’t want a generic Puccini character,” Duarte says. “He wanted me to rewrite the story through my own experience. That unlocked so many doors for me in terms of repertoire and characterization.”

That personal connection runs especially deep when it comes to his Latin American identity. As one of only two Latin American singers in the program, he felt both the weight and the responsibility of representing his musical heritage in a field still centered on European and American traditions.

“Trying to uplift Latin American music has always been a difficult task,” he says. “I love Mozart and Tchaikovsky, but I don’t want to let my roots go. Sometimes my Latin American identity had to reside more internally during the program, but it was always there.”

One solo piece (Torna a Surriento) about a man leaving his community hit particularly close to home. 

“When I finally found a translation, I shed a tear,” he says. “It reflects my own story — having to leave Honduras at 15, then going to a United World College (UWC) in India, and now the United States. These places have protected me, but they still don’t feel like home in the way Honduras does. While singing the piece, I was singing my own experience.”

This fall he channeled that experience into a new project on campus: Duarte directed a Latin American music recital at St. Olaf in collaboration with the Music Department, Spanish Program, the Taylor Center for Equity and Inclusion, and community partners. The recital explored themes of migration, displacement, and hope – and aimed to connect especially with the immigrant community in Northfield. 

“It’s not a conventional classical recital,” he says. “It was crafted with the quality seal of St. Olaf, but the goal was to make space for our stories and invite the audience to sing with us. We needed that.”

For Duate, the summer confirmed both the challenges and the possibilities of a career in opera — and how his training at St. Olaf prepared him to meet them. 

“Classes like lyric direction were crucial,” he says. “I couldn’t have performed in Italian or German without them. When I was reading my music in Italy and Bulgaria, I was constantly thinking about what I learned in that class. It gave me a huge advantage.”

His advice to students eyeing similar programs: be realistic about the rigor, but don’t be afraid to dream big — and get help. 

“These programs are demanding and expensive, and the expectations are high from day one,” he says. “Start preparing early: sight-read, learn repertoire, research opportunities. And don’t forget about funding — support from St. Olaf, like the Johnson Family Opportunity Fund and the Piper Center for Vocation and Career made my experience possible.” 

Ava Messinger

While Kedir and Duarte spent their summers onstage, Messinger was orchestrating everything happening around it. 

As a stage management intern for a U.S.-based summer opera program in Italy, she spent five and a half weeks in a small village called Novafeltria, near the Adriatic coast and just west of San Marino. The program mounted three productions — Gianni Schicchi, Rigoletto, and L’elisir d’amore — and drew undergraduates, graduate students, and emerging professionals from around the world. 

Messinger stage managed L’elisir d’amore, serving as the main point of contact for singers, directors, and production staff. 

“Stage management is, at its core, very logistical,” she says. “All cast communication went through me – scheduling, conflicts, anything that came up during the rehearsal process. I was also the liaison between the director and maestro and the set and production teams.”

Unlike her work at St. Olaf, where she had already built relationships with many of the people in the room, this program required her to step cold into a leadership role.

“At St. Olaf, I’ve usually known the people I’m working with,” Messinger says. “In Italy, I didn’t know anyone going in. Having to establish that role in a brand-new environment was tricky — but everyone was very kind and accommodating, and we built a strong working community.”

Her connection to stage management started on campus, when she stage managed The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee for the Theater Department. 

“That production sparked an interest,” she says. “I realized I might want to look at this as a professional career. I started searching for stage management internships, and this one popped up. Because I already had a history with opera — both watching and performing — it felt like a really good fit.” 

Over the course of the summer, she learned how different directors use stage managers in different ways. Her director for L’elisir d’amore, David Ronis from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, invited her to contribute artistically as well. 

“He came in with the idea that whoever stage managed for him would also give directional advice,” she says. “So that was my main artistic input — sharing directional ideas when it was helpful — but my core responsibilities were still logistical.”

The most rewarding part, she says, was the community she built with the other backstage interns. 

“We all lived together in one house — four stage management interns, two costume interns, one set intern, and one lighting intern,” she says. “We built this community of backstage people that you don’t always get in other settings where the work is more divided. I really loved that.”

There were also unforgettable moments of beauty, like the final performance at Castello di Montefiore Conca, an outdoor venue perched above the countryside.

“The castle doesn’t really have wings or backstage space, so there were a lot of logistical challenges,” Messinger says. “But you could see the Adriatic and the mountains in the background. A friend and I walked to the top of the castle, looked out over the garden, and saw the performance setup against that view. It was gorgeous.”

Technically, the biggest growth area for her was flexibility. 

“I’m someone who, when I find a system that works, likes to stick with it,” she says. “This forced me to go outside my comfort zone, learn a new way to do things, and try different organizational systems. That flexibility is something I definitely strengthened.”

The experience also confirmed that stage management is a path she wants to keep pursuing — at least right after graduation. 

“Immediately post-grad, I’m definitely interested in stage management, especially in opera,” she says. “Right now it’s very employable — there are lots of jobs. I’d love to travel and explore the world a bit using stage management, and then eventually I see myself going back to graduate school for psychology or law.”

For current students curious about stage management, Messinger suggests starting close to home. 

“Get involved in local theater — especially student theater organizations,” she says. “They provide really great, low-stakes opportunities for learning and figuring out whether this work is right for you.”

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Whether they were leading high school tenors, stepping into professional opera roles, or calling cues in an Italian castle, Kedir, Duarte, and Messinger all describe their summers as intense, challenging, and deeply affirming. 

They also see clear through-lines back to St. Olaf: the conducting and education classes that helped Kedir scaffold lessons for young singers; the diction and vocal training that prepared Duarte to hold his own in European opera houses; the campus productions and student theater opportunities that gave Messinger the foundation to manage a full-scale opera. 

And all three are already using what they learned to enrich the St. Olaf community — through mentoring younger students, organizing culturally grounded performances, and taking on new leadership roles in music and theater on campus. 

As Kedir puts it, sometimes the most important step is simply saying yes. 

“Every experience is a good experience,” he says. “There are always going to be ups and downs, but you’ll learn from all of it — and you never know who it might connect you to next.”