Soprano Marissa Bloom, a burgeoning young singer, is known for her extraordinary dramatic presence and rich vocal quality. Currently, Marissa Bloom is the Assistant Opera Director at West Virginia University where she will be obtaining her Masters degree, studying with Dr. Hope Koehler and director Robert Thieme. In the Spring of 2010, Ms. Bloom will be performing the role of Alma in Lee Hoiby’s Summer and Smoke. While at WVU, Ms. Bloom has performed the roles of Anna (Anna Bolena), Magda (Consul), Rosalinde (Die Fledermaus), Arabella (Arabella), Marie (The Bartered Bride), and Pamina (The Magic Flute) in the opera scenes program.  In 2008, Ms. Bloom received a B.M. of Vocal Arts, summa cum laude, from the University of Southern California where she studied under Professor Peter Lightfoot. While studying at USC, Ms. Bloom performed the role of Susanna in the USC Opera Scenes Program and made her full-length operatic debut in the role of The Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors with the USC Chamber Opera. This past summer, Ms. Bloom performed the roles of Maryann (Tartuffe) and Agathe (Der Freischutz) with the Redwoods Opera Workshop where she studied with Elizabeth Vrenios and Darryl Cooper. In 2007 and 2008, she attended the Songfest Apprentice program in Malibu, studying with Paul Sperry and accompanists Graham Johnson and Martin Katz. In her two summers at Songfest, Marissa Bloom performed the roles of 2nd Spirit (The Magic Flute), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), and Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro). Her numerous recital performances have earned her great acclaim for her dramatic interpretations and fondness for lesser-known vocal works. Ms. Bloom has won several awards and competitions including the NATS Tri-State Chapter Competition, Pacific Repertory Opera Company’s Vocal Competition of San Luis Obispo, California and the Intimate Opera Company Vocal Competition of Pasadena, California.  A proponent of music education, Ms. Bloom was the assistant director of the Pacific Repertory Opera Company’s Opera Camp in the summers of 2008 and 2009. Currently, Marissa Bloom runs a vocal studio where she uses a full-body approach to singing by incorporating yoga postures and breathing techniques into her training.
 

            A native of Atascadero, California, the accomplished Ms. Bloom was an active participant in the Atascadero High School Choral Department as a member of the Advanced Women’s Choir and Show Choir where she received several awards including the Distinguished Service Award, Most Outstanding Choral Musician, and the Michael Hurst Memorial Award. She was also the Choir Council President and the Choral Director’s Assistant. During high school, she took vocal instruction from Janice Vercoutere of Atascadero and in the summer of 2009 she studied voice with Jacalyn Kreitzer of Los Osos, CA. A multi-talented artist, Ms. Bloom is also an avid swing dancer, tap dancer, costume designer, and an award-winning floral designer.