A new musical voice is emerging from The Bronx but this time it’s not related to doo wop, salsa, or hip-hop, three musical genres often associated with the “Boogie Down.”  This new talent is breaking ground from her home base in Hunts Point and into the world of opera – yes, opera!

 

Linda Collazo has been developing her musical talents her entire life. Now, as a 27-year-old mezzo-soprano, she will make her Carnegie Hall debut on March 25, and a month later, she makes her Lincoln Center debut at Alice Tully Hall.

 

Although her success is the result of non-stop auditions and applications to sing with organized music groups, Collazo’s invitation to sing at two of New York City’s most renowned performance venues came as somewhat of a surprise. “I got this random email asking if I could sing at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center,” she told Norwood News in a recent phone interview. “I’m not going to lie; I cried when I got that offer!”

 

She modestly credits her Carnegie Hall debut to “good fortune and faith.” However, it was her work ethic, combined with her special voice that set her on her chosen artistic career path.

 

During her first year at one of the City’s most prestigious high schools, the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, [the “Fame” school] a teacher recognized the uniqueness of her voice, propelling her into academic vocal studies.

 

She went on to graduate from the very selective Macaulay Honors College at The City University of New York (CUNY) with a bachelor’s degree in music.

 

Growing up in the South Bronx with her parents, one Ecuadorian and the other Puerto Rican, and an older sister did not prepare Collazo for eventually rubbing elbows with the patrons of an art form usually associated with wealth and high social status, but through a network of encouraging music teachers, voice coaches, and fellow artists, she found a path to fulfilling her musical ambitions.

 

After college, she was invited to perform with a long list of performing arts organizations across the country, ranging from the Sarasota Opera (FL) to the Aspen Music Festival (CO), where she received a vocal fellowship.

 

“I was with a bunch of kids from Julliard and from Yale and from Rice; the top conservatories in the country,” she said, in part. “I got to work with famous opera singers and conductors. I got to meet and work with Renée Fleming and she’s probably the most famous opera singer alive.”

No matter how far she travels from her South Bronx home, Collazo is often reminded of her unique position as a Latina opera singer. “[In Aspen] I was one of the students that was represented especially because I’m from The Bronx; that’s very unique to what I do,” she said.

 

Closer to home, in December 2021, Collazo performed as a soloist at Woodlawn Cemetery’s Woolworth Chapel at a concert entitled, “Joy and Love for the Holidays.”

 

She was accompanied at that performance by pianist, Pablo Zinger, who first became aware of Collazo when he saw her perform at Weill Recital Hall, a 268-seat venue, located within the Carnegie Hall building and nicknamed by Zinger as “the small Carnegie Hall.” Instantly, he knew he had seen a special talent in Collazo. “There were a bunch of young singers singing and she just stuck out,” he remembers. “She sang beautifully.”

 

From that performance, Zinger sought out Collazo through Bronx Arts Ensemble, an organization which brings music and related arts to Bronx schools and neighborhoods through live performances and innovative arts education, to perform together across the City. “It’s been a few years where we have done a lot of stuff in The Bronx, in Brooklyn, [and] in Manhattan,” he said.

 

Singers are in constant need of audition videos and Zinger has helped Collazo produce some of her video reels. “She often comes and does videos at my studio,” he said. “It’s been a pleasure to see her grow and start a professional career,” he added.

 

Collazo also continues to give back to her community both as a private music teacher and at The Point Community Development Center by promoting their free music education program. An extract from the center’s website reads that it is “dedicated to youth development and the cultural and economic revitalization of the Hunts Point section of the South Bronx.” It was at The Point where Collazo received some of her earliest music training as a child.

 

Through dedication to her craft and a lot of hard work, Collazo has developed an impressive resume of accomplishments during a still developing musical career. The thoughts of soon singing inside two of New York City’s classic concert venues, venerated as they are, has certainly had an “uplifting” effect on her. “Yeah, I’m going to sing there, and I literally can’t believe it!”

 

More information about Linda Collazo can be found on her website: https://www.lindacollazo.com/.