http://laurakrumm.com/

Tell us a little about yourself! Where are you from? What is your educational and musical background?

I grew up in Iowa City, Iowa. I went to undergrad at Luther College and have a Masters of Music from the University of North Texas. I also did young artist training as an Adler Fellow with San Francisco Opera.

What is one thing you wish you had known as a young singer and why?

My answer to this question could change daily but today the answer is to highly value your own taste and experiences. As a student, I often felt like the only real path to being a good singer was making my teachers happy, but when I got into the professional world, I realized that the singers I aspired to be nurtured their individualism just as much as they took in the guidance of others.

Tell us about an obstacle you have faced during your career and how you overcame it.
 All of my big obstacles have ultimately come down to performance anxiety. For me, the best way to deal with it is a healthy mix of exceptional preparation with my trusted teachers and coaches, regular exercise, and talk therapy.

What is one role or piece you could perform over and over and never get tired of?

Cherubino from The Marriage of Figaro has been with me the longest and is still one of my favorites.

If you could only give one piece of advice to a young singer, what would it be?

First of all, I'd say be wary of advice from people who don't know you! If you read or hear something that inspires you or makes you rethink things then that's awesome. However, if it makes you feel bad then ditch it. You're not obligated to listen to the advice of strangers. Now for advice from a stranger! :) Take the time to figure out how your voice and body best warm up. It took me until this year to realize that my best warm up was just tongue-out lip trills, careful lower passagio work, and staccato exercises. It takes all of 7 minutes and gives me a lot of confidence and grounding.

Is there anything you spent too much time stressing over that didn't end up being a big deal?

Literally everything. The hardest work I've done (and continue to do) in my career is learning to accept the unknown and release myself from the responsibility of preparing for every possibility.

Where can we catch you performing next?

This weekend I'll be singing the Mozart Requiem with the Santa Rosa Symphony.