Like a lot of kids (and adults) in the Traverse City area, Katherine DeYoung sang in the NMC Children's Choirs when she was growing up.
Unlike a lot of kids and adults in Traverse City (and anywhere, really) Katherine DeYoung is now a member of one of the most prestigious choruses in the world: the Metropolitan Opera Chorus.
A graduate of St. Francis High School, DeYoung also spent a summer at Interlochen Arts Camp. She studied voice at Michigan State University and the University of Houston.
This season, DeYoung will take IPR listeners behind the scenes of the productions during the Met's radio broadcast season.
View the complete schedule of radio broadcasts here.
From the sets to the costumes to the wigs to fun facts about the productions, DeYoung will give IPR listeners an insider's perspective of each opera. Her dispatches will be broadcast weekly, and a corresponding video will be posted on Classical IPR's Instagram.
Get to know DeYoung ahead of this weekend's Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network season premiere.
Listen to the entire interview and her music selections on demand, or read below for highlights. The interview transcript has been edited for clarity.
On how she first got interested in opera
The NMC Children's Choir and my church choir were my first experiences where I really fell in love with singing. I sang in my high school choir and wanted to get the lead in the high school musical, so my choir director recommended that I start taking voice lessons. I studied with Jayne Sleder in Traverse City, and I fell in love with singing.
Opera entered my radar when I saw a Met Opera HD broadcast of "The Tales of Hoffmann" at the State Theater in Traverse City. It was the most incredible thing I'd ever seen. I was blown away by it.
I remember leaving the theater and texting my mom while I was standing in front of Horizon Books because I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life then.
On what an average week looks like for her as a member of the Met Opera Chorus
It's definitely not a normal 9 to 5. We sometimes have five different shows running at the same time, so in the morning I'll be rehearsing for one show and then that evening I'm going onstage in a completely different show.
At the beginning of the season, they handed me a stack of twelve scores. It's been a whirlwind, but I'm so thrilled and honored to be a part of this.
On how her role at the Met is much more than singing
It's everything. It's the acting, the singing, the choreography, the staging, the character work - it's a lot to have in the brain.
When you walk on stage, you are a character. The costumes and the wigs help with that, but it's really the energy of the stage.
In productions like "Andrea Chenier," we're playing an angry mob in the French Revolution. Finding those characters and finding those moments where you can really interact and be part of that scene is incredible.
On being onstage for the iconic Franco Zeffirelli production of "La Bohème"
We actually ride the set on stage during the intermission. When the curtain closes after Act I, our amazing tech crew sweeps in and starts prepping. The Act I set gets pushed off to the left, and then we slowly ride the Act II set onto the center stage.
It's almost like an elevator - it sinks down to match the rest of the set that the tech crew has brought in, and they lock it into place. It happens in a matter of minutes. We hear the opening chords of Act II, the curtain opens and we go.
On her favorite costume so far this season
In Act I of "Andrea Chenier," we are part of the French aristocracy. I'm wearing a full, almost Marie Antoinette-esque costume with the wig that is huge and has feathers and flowers and jewels in it.
All of the women in the chorus are in the costumes, and there's something so grand opera about that costume. I just love putting it on.
