Holland Community Opera Fellowship

The Holland Community Opera Fellowship (HCOF) brings community-minded, entrepreneurial artists to live and work in Omaha.

Fellows serve as ambassadors of the company by bringing their artistic talents and resources to the table, partnering with experts in the community who are actively working to solve the most pressing challenges our neighbors are facing.

HCOF works collaboratively with community partners to co-create programming that helps individuals, organizations, and communities reach their goals, acting as creative and artistic servants to the community. Via this collaboration, Fellows work to impact social issues such as homelessness, accessibility and inclusion within disability services, immigration, early childhood education, and more.

AS A FELLOWSHIP WE

BUILD relationships and engage in collaboration with community partners
EMPOWER individuals to explore their own creativity through the many facets of opera including music, visual art, design, and storytelling
COLLABORATE to identify priority issues and programming that amplify and support the mission of community partners
CREATE opportunities for safe expression, including a full range of emotions
INSPIRE and cultivate a diverse, empathetic, and creative community in Omaha

BELIEFS

We can find different ways to engage both the artists and the community to expand the experience of opera

Collaboration is at the core of our work

Opera should be accessible to anyone and welcoming to everyone

HCOF partners are experts in their communities, and we rely on them to identify the needs of the people they serve

VALUES

Download HCOF Flyer

Interested in Joining the Team?

The Holland Community Opera Fellowship is looking for great teaching artists to join the team. If you feel passionate about our mission and taking an active role in being a change agent in the community, you might be a good fit. Please fill out the following contact information and someone from our team will be in touch with you about next steps.

Submit your Information

Learn more about applying for the fellowship

Community Partners & Programming

We bring our artistic talents and resources to the table to partner with experts in the field who are actively working to solve the most pressing issues in our communities. We create responsive programming that acknowledges the specific strengths of each participating individual or community partner. Our partners are the experts in their communities and we rely on them to identify the needs or the people they serve.

"I am a firm believer in the Fellowship. Being at MICAH House in the beginning when this came to our agency, I asked, ‘How does Opera fit in our programming?’ I didn’t see the correlation. But it only took me a couple of weeks of seeing it and I’ve been a firm believer since. It has been a wonderful partnership."

—Angie Williams, MICAH House Program Director

"Opera is just like everything we do at Gotta Be Me – you experience it, feel it, be there in all the moments to get it – to let it touch you and become part of who you are. And then to make it your own. Throughout our time together the technical skills we have learned were evident and important. However, the most meaningful things to come from our partnership have been the changes in our crew as people, humans who are becoming who they want to be."

—Tiffiny Clifton, Gotta Be Me

Since 2018, HCOF has collaborated with Gotta Be Me on a variety of classes, workshops, and productions.

"Through music and art, I learned to channel my emotions. I felt very comfortable and safe and the workshops were very beneficial to me. I gained new ideas of how I can be creative. I am a little more artistic than I thought!"

— HCOF workshop participant

23/24 Programming Partners

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Our 2024- 2025 Fellows

Rosemary Joyce

Rosemary Joyce, described as a passionate and provocative performer, is a soprano, opera director, lover of literature, crossword solver, and Chicago native. In recent seasons, Rosemary has been seen portraying the titular roles in both Puccini’s Suor Angelica and Menotti’s Maria Golovin. As a director, she has mounted productions of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas and Mikeila McQueston’s Lucy Boyd, as well as assistant directing Britten’s The Turn of the Screw alongside Greg Eldridge. Rosemary is also an active recitalist whose repertoire selections reflect her desire to bring new voices and perspectives into the classical canon. A recent graduate, Rosemary earned her master’s degree in Vocal Performance from Louisiana State University, and she also holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota.

Aiden James Poling

Aiden James Poling is a multi-hyphenate professional story-teller and arts educator from Shreveport, Louisiana and is a recent transplant to the Omaha area. He graduated from Centenary College (‘17) with BFAs in both Theatre and Studio Art, and both areas of study have allowed him opportunities to succeed not only on stage but as a director and designer, as well. Over the last two years, Aiden served as an Artistic Director and Actor-Educator for RESPECT, a touring educational theatre organization that teaches folks of all ages about social-emotional skills and building healthy relationships. He is also currently an actor for the Omaha Community Playhouse's VROOM! Mobile Sensory Theatre, a one-of-a-kind traveling immersive experience designed for audiences with autism, developmental delays, or other sensory sensitivities. A few of his notable stage credits include: Jack Kelly in Newsies, Moritz Stiefel in Spring Awakening, Little Bat in Susannah, and Riff Raff in The Rocky Horror Show. Aiden is passionate about utilizing his talents to assist in creating inclusive, accessible spaces where the arts can be appreciated and enjoyed by all, and is thrilled for the opportunity to continue to do so through the HCOF program

Alejandra Sandoval-Montañez

Alejandra Sandoval-Montañez is a Mexican-American mezzo-soprano, educator, and social media creator. She recently completed her master’s degree in Vocal Performance and Literature at the University of Illinois under the instruction of bass-baritone Ricardo Herrera. Alejandra’s previous credits with Lyric Theatre at Illinois include Carnaval!, A Little Night Music (Mrs. Segstrom / Desiree Armfeldt understudy), and MET The Musical (Carpathia Dragos). Alejandra has also performed with the Gilbert and Sullivan Company of El Paso, with whom she has performed the roles of Edith in Pirates of Penzance, Lady Angela in Patience, and assisted as vocal director of El Paso’s production of H.M.S. Pinafore. In addition to her work on stage, Alejandra has combined her love for music, graphic design, and social media to create the Aspiring Opera Singers community: an Instagram/Facebook platform where she shares resources, inspiration, and interviews with leading opera professionals.

Community Panel

The panel represents a cross-section of the community including organizations, businesses, neighborhoods, and community groups. Those serving on the Community Panel develop a partnership with Opera Omaha to engage in meaningful conversations to identify community issues and program development and potential partners and opportunities across different neighborhoods and sectors. The panel considers high level strategic decisions and priorities, helping set the direction of the Fellowship and is a critical part of the Fellow selection process, With the panel, residents from neighborhoods across the greater Omaha metro area have a voice in choosing who and how artists interact with their diverse districts and constituent groups.

2024-2025 Community Panel

Ang Bennett, Inclusive Communities & Artist
Tiffiny Clifton, Gotta Be Me
Geri Knight, RISE
Rachel Morgan, Nebraska Arts Council
Carrie Nath, Arts Access & Outreach Consultant
Rita Paskowitz, Storyteller
Alysia Radicia, RDG Planning and Design
Wildey Rodriguez, Intercultural Senior Center
Lee Emma Running, Artist
Justin Spooner, Colliers Nebraska
Paula Wallace, Artist
Angie Williams, MICAH House
Gwyn Williams, Independent Leadership Coach