Meet the Student: Q&A with Baritone Nathan Schludecker

Baritone Nathan Schludecker, from Terra Haute, Indiana, entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2023 and studies in the opera program with Mark Schnaible and Carol Vaness. All students at Curtis receive merit-based, full-tuition scholarships, and Mr. Schludecker is the Arthur Tracy Fellow.

See Mr. Schludecker in Curtis Opera Theatre’s upcoming production of George Frideric Handel’s magnificent pastoral ode L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato (The Cheerful Man, the Thoughtful Man, and the Moderate Man), November 10 and 12 at the Philadelphia Film Center.



What was that pivotal moment when you knew you wanted to pursue a career as a classical musician?
I knew I wanted to pursue a career as a classical musician when I started singing in my high school choir. I never sang classically prior to high school; I actually was a tubist before I began singing. Singing for others has always been very fulfilling to me growing up and I had to find a way for my life to have music in it somehow. And considering that being a professional opera singer could not really be a side hustle, pursuing it as a full-time job was, and still is, the plan.

Now that you’ve found a regular cadence to your daily life here at Curtis, balancing classes and rehearsals, what excites you the most about pursuing your master’s in opera here?
What excites me most about pursuing my master’s at Curtis is the amount of work I get to do with amazing coaches, directors, conductors, etc. Being here almost feels like being in an opera company. The educators I work with here are people that I hope to work with for the rest of my life, not only in Curtis but in the professional world as well. The encouragement and guidance I have been shown here make me feel incredibly prepared for the real world of being an opera singer.

Photos of Nathan Schludecker by Nichole MCH Photography.

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