Washington Post: CCM alumna in 22 for '22 list of artists to watch this year

Voice alum Raven McMillon is a performer who is changing the classical landscape

UC College-Conservatory of Music alumna Raven McMillon (MM Voice ‘20) was recently spotlighted in the Washington Post's article "22 for ‘22: Composers and performers to watch this year." The prestigious list holds spots for artists such as Carlos Simon and Kamala Sankaram whose works have been featured at Washington National Opera, the Glimmerglass Festival, Minnesota Opera and Houston Grand Opera. 

A headshot of Raven McMillon

Raven McMillon.

Described as a “powerful rising soprano,” at just 25 years-old, McMillon has taken the opera industry by storm. She was named a 2021 Grand Finals Winner of the prestigious Metropolitan Opera’s Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition (formerly known as the National Council Auditions) and recently joined the roster of IMG Artists, who represent top classical artists worldwide. Now in her second year as a studio artist with the Houston Grand Opera, McMillon starred in Joel Thompson’s A Snowy Day for which she garnered critical acclaim and a front page spread in the New York Times. Her 2021-22 season also sees house debuts with Des Moines Metro Opera (Pamina in The Magic Flute) and Opera Philadelphia (Gilda in Rigoletto). 

During her time at CCM, she was a student of Thomas Baresel, singing Linfea in La Calisto and slated for Papagena in the Spring 2020 production of The Magic Flute, which was canceled due to COVID-19. She also performed as La Princesse in L’enfant et les sortilèges with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in Feburary 2020.

McMillon returns to Cincinnati this summer, singing Musetta in La Bohème and Ruthie in the highly anticipated world premiere of Gregory Spears’ Castor and Patience with Cincinnati Opera. She was seen in as Frasquita, the company’s outdoor presentation of Carmen last summer.

Featured image at the top: Raven McMillon (center). Photo/ravenmcmillon.com.

Headshot of Jaime Sharp

Jaime Sharp

CCM Graduate Assistant, Marketing + Communications

Jaime Sharp is a master's student studying Vocal Performance at CCM. She serves as the Vice President of the CCM Graduate Student Association and Student Liaison for the CCM DEI Committee. Jaime holds a bachelor's from the University of Michigan.

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