TESS OTTINGER

Biography

Tess Ottinger, soprano, is a versatile vocalist based in the Northern Virginia area and is passionate about performing and teaching all aspects of the classical art form. She discovered her love for the classical vocal arts when she started her training in 2009 with Metropolitan Opera soprano, Danielle Talamantes. Since then, she has immersed herself in all forms of classical vocal literature, from opera to art song, oratorio, and choral repertoire.
Tess is an alumna of Virginia Commonwealth University (BM Music Education and Vocal Performance) and the Johns Hopkins Peabody Institute (MM Vocal Performance and Vocal Pedagogy), where she studied with Pedagogue Dr. Stanley Cornett and coached with his wife, gifted collaborative pianist and educator Eileen Cornett. Tess currently studies with the esteemed Elizabeth Daniels.
Tess is a dedicated vocal technician who has been teaching since 2015 when she opened her private studio, Vissi d’Arte Studios. She has a passion for teaching all aspect of the voice and continues her professional teaching development by attending pedagogy seminars, such as The Westminster Choir College Vocal Pedagogy Institute, from which she gained a certificate in 2021. Ms. Ottinger is also an active professional vocalist. In January 2023, Tess covered the role of Dalinda in Handel’s Ariodante with Pittsburgh Opera, was the recipient of an Encouragement Award from the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition and won first prize in The Music International Grand Prix Semi-finalist competition. Additionally, she was a winner of the Classical Singer Magazine Summer Feedback Competition in 2022.
During the 2022-2023 season she performed throughout the DMV with various organizations, including The Amadeus Orchestra, The Frederick’s Children’s Chorus, Clarendon United Methodist Church (in several performances of Handel’s Messiah), Bach in Baltimore (performing Cantata’s 184 and 79), and The Young Victorian Theatre Company (performing the role of Mabel in Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance). Her previous roles include Lisette in Puccini’s La Rondine, Lauretta in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, and Susanna in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro.
Tess enjoys cooking, baking, and traveling with her family and friends. She also enjoys spending time with her pup, Nico (named after the great operatic tenor, Nicolai Gedda), cat, Yosemite, and her partner Lukas Schmidt, tenor. Tess is thrilled to teach alongside gifted teaching artists and performers at The Duke Ellington School of the Arts.