Emily Sladek
Class of 2007
Major: Music – Voice Performance
Minor: Hesburgh Program for Public Service (interdisciplinary minor)
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
I have been singing and performing ever since I was a little girl. Music is what I am passionate about, and singing is what I love to do. Studying music and voice in college, then, was an easy choice, and one that I was excited to embrace.
So much academia is involved in music and in the study of voice; it is wonderful to have a passion and to be able to study it with the incredibly gifted and knowledgeable faculty at Notre Dame. All of the faculty members are dedicated and passionate about their areas of study, which is what most inspired me. The ways in which they made class exciting, motivated me to do research and write about musical subjects, and took time to get to know me, my musical dreams, and talents have been valuable and so appreciated.
While at Notre Dame I performed in three operas, four musicals, a few dramatic plays, two solo vocal recitals, many student chamber recitals, countless choir concerts, Sunday Masses, and spontaneous musical moments with friends. I plan to continue to make music a constant presence throughout my life—my dream is to do live theatre in the United States or abroad, whether it be opera, operetta, or American musical theatre. Regardless of what I do, there is more education in store for me after Notre Dame and lots of discovering to be done with my voice and myself as an emerging performer.
