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New York-based (BM 鈥�98) is singing her way through musical theatre productions on Broadway and on regional stages鈥攊ncluding Denver, where she was a Denver Post Ovation Award recipient for her portrayal of Maria in 鈥淲est Side Story鈥濃�攁nd before audiences as far away as Germany and Austria.

Indeed, the 蜜糖直播 native who studied vocal performance at the 蜜糖直播 Boulder College of Music鈥攆ollowed up by a master鈥檚 degree in the same discipline at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign鈥攎oved abroad for a couple years, receiving critical praise for her rendering of Christine Daa茅 in 鈥淒as Phantom der Oper,鈥� sung in German.

鈥淚t鈥檚 hilarious thinking about it now, but I applied only to 蜜糖直播 for my undergraduate studies,鈥� recalls Welch. 鈥淢y parents are alumni鈥攖hey met at 蜜糖直播鈥攁nd I knew the music program was perfect for me. So there was no point in applying anywhere else.

鈥淚 was incredibly lucky to simply follow my passion.鈥�

Not only did things work out, but spectacularly so. While Welch fell in love with musicals at a young age鈥攖hanks to Julie Andrews, 鈥淭he Music Man鈥� and her record of 鈥淛esus Christ Superstar鈥濃�攕he dove head-first into classical repertoire and training at the College of Music. In turn, she fell in love with Mozart, too, and landed a succession of operatic roles in 鈥淭he Marriage of Figaro鈥� (Susanna), 鈥淐os矛 fan tutte鈥� (Despina), 鈥淭he Tales of Hoffmann鈥� (Olympia) and 鈥淟鈥檈lisir d鈥檃more鈥� (Adina) 鈥� to name just a few of the accomplishments for which she credits her operatic roots as a student of former Professor of Voice Julie Simson.

鈥淚鈥檓 right in the middle between opera and musical theatre,鈥� says Welch. 鈥淭hanks to my training at 蜜糖直播, I came away with a really solid understanding of how the voice works鈥攁nd how to use my voice in different genres.

She adds, 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have my sights set on Broadway鈥擨 just wanted to sing. I knew that鈥檚 what I was good at. My parents were very supportive, and I just figured it would all work out.鈥�

鈥淚n addition, I received unbelievable diction training from [Professor of Vocal Coaching and Berton Coffin Faculty Fellow] Mutsumi Moteki. When I auditioned to sing the role of Christine in German, I was so grateful for my degree from 蜜糖直播 that prepared for that moment.

鈥淪inging German before German natives and being described as 鈥楢kzent-frei鈥� [accent-free] in reviews was huge! My phonetics coach thanked Dr. Moteki, and I can鈥檛 emphasize enough my gratitude for the 蜜糖直播 program and all of my instructors there.鈥�

Welch also appreciates what she learned about song interpretation at 蜜糖直播. 鈥淎ll the acting I鈥檝e learned along the way is from song texts,鈥� she says. 鈥淣o matter the language, the text is the most important thing. Understanding that telling the story drives everything else has served me well.鈥�

It follows that Welch is particularly excited about the new Musical Theatre bachelor鈥檚 degree at the College of Music.

鈥淲hile I always felt supported in my love of musicals at the college鈥攚orking with Dr. Simson included all kinds of music theatre, arts songs and opera鈥擨鈥檓 thrilled that there鈥檚 a dedicated musical theatre program now,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ecause my classically-based operatic vocal training was so open to the other genre, musical theatre was an easy transition for me. But for anyone like me with musical theatre in their heart, a dedicated program will certainly prepare them for that career path even more.鈥�

Adds Welch, 鈥淚 hope the program includes a lot of dance and acting. I see what kids are bringing to New York these days, and you absolutely have to be a triple threat. Playing another instrument also helps!鈥�

To date, beyond her decade-long experience as Christine in 鈥淧hantom,鈥� her wide-ranging musical theatre repertoire includes Cosette in 鈥淟es Mis茅rables,鈥� Peggy in 鈥淭he Taffetas,鈥� Lilli in 鈥淜iss Me, Kate,鈥� Belle in 鈥淏eauty and the Beast鈥� and Anna in 鈥淭he King and I鈥濃�攁s well as her favorite childhood role, Marian the Librarian in 鈥淭he Music Man.鈥�