BY JESSICA ALFREY
Correspondent
EDISON – Most teens dream about becoming a movie star, but not Maria Bromberg.
Bromberg, a 17-year-old Edison resident, was one of 28 high-school-age students chosen to participate in the Washington National Opera’s Institute for Young Singers.
The program, now in its ninth year, is held at Catholic University’s Benjamin T. Rome School of Music in Washington, D.C. Running from June 25 to July 14, the program will culminate in a performance on the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage.
Bromberg, an incoming senior at J.P. Stevens, has been singing for five or six years.
“I always loved singing,” said Bromberg. “I started out with things as simple as Disney songs and experimented with different kinds of music.”
She came across opera while desperately looking for a summer camp; she discovered a children’s opera camp in Westminster and fell in love with the art form. Bromberg said she loves opera “because the singing is so pure, more so than musical theater.”
Bromberg is an active student who is involved in the choir and Spanish Honor Society at school. Outside of school, she stretches her performance muscles in conjunction with celebrating her heritage. Bromberg, who is Russian, participates in bard, a Russian art form that is a kind of singing poetry to simple music. She attends festivals twice a year. This was the first time that Bromberg tried out for the prestigious program.
“I was nervous of course,” said Bromberg. “I don’t know how competitive it was, but it felt very competitive judging by the voices coming out of the audition rooms.”
This year, the program drew 110 15- to 18-year-old students from the U.S. and Canada. The program costs about $1,300, though Bromberg said she was lucky enough to receive a scholarship to offset the out-of-pocket costs.
While she admits that not many of her peers share her love of opera, “They think it’s cool and they make fun of me for being a dork,” said Bromberg. “They can appreciate it and they’re proud of me.”
So far, Bromberg is appreciative of all the program has to offer.
“It’s been amazing. It’s everything I expected and more,” said Bromberg. “We’re given every possible opportunity.”
Bromberg noted that the program offers classes ranging from vocal performance, how to stay confident in your body, and college preparation. Other areas the program touches on include Italian diction, sight singing, and yoga designed for singers. Not only do the participants attend several performances, but they give performances in the Ward Recital Hall along with the final icing on the cake – their performance at the Kennedy Center on July 16 at 6 p.m. that is open and free to the public. Another perk of the camp, according to Bromberg, is meeting other students with more refined taste.
“The people who take time out of their schedules to do an art form that isn’t common,” said Bromberg, “are the people who read the literature and enjoy the movies I like to watch.”
Bromberg dreams of attending New York University to double major in voice performance and business. Bromberg’s first goal in her potential career is not performance.
“I would like to go into this vast field and work somewhere close to opera, so that if an opportunity presents itself to perform, I can,” said Bromberg. “But I would like to have a job that supports me.”