projects

MAESTRA_01

MAESTRA: First Takes

One of MAESTRA's newest programs, First Takes creates a pipeline for women, nonbinary people, and people of color to make music alongside working professionals. The program–which is offered three times a year, with Mila and trumpeter Rebecca Steinberg serving as Co-Program Heads–provides a platform for Maestra musicians to perform and be heard in a supportive and unpressured environment. It aims to simulate a professional reading session, better preparing early-career professionals for the workplace, and offering a crucial opportunity for developing new music projects and meeting future collaborators.

Black Red

The Opera Cowgirls

The Opera Cowgirls are an all-girl band comprised of professional musicians Caitlin McKechney (founder), Sarah Beckham-Turner, Mila Henry, Maria Maxfield and Jessica Sandidge. Known for their ability to sing Puccini to Parton, the Cowgirls have performed in dive bars, jazz clubs and community events spanning the Texas Panhandle to the Sunshine State, the Big Apple to New England. With a combination of upscale voices and down-home instruments, this is truly where Grand Opera meets the Grand Ole Opry.

Voices of Women_album cover copy

Voices of Women

Voices of Women: From Unknown to Renowned began in a workshop that soprano Heather Fetrow attended called The Twenty-First Century Singer, grew further to encompass the goal of honoring female composers, and now stands on its own both as an album and recital series. Its conception coincided with the Women’s March in Washington, D.C. in January 2017, which lent a sense of timeliness to the project. With its unique focus of songs composed by women as well as songs about women, the project brings to the fore the vast social change the world is undergoing in respect to women in society. Voices of Women is dedicated to the many women who have overcome prejudice and bias to sing their songs.