Inspiring U | Mar 24, 2025
What's New With U? March 2025
Dear Friends,
Happy Spring! To celebrate the changing season, we have launched our first-ever Usdan Arts March Madness Competition. Fill out your bracket and vote for your favorite Usdan class on our Instagram stories @usdanarts. May the best class win!
In other news, a recent alum took the stage at the Metropolitan Opera, and we made you a playlist of our favorite female musicians of New York to celebrate Women’s History Month.
Enjoy!
Alum Spotlight: Kathryn Papa, Vocalist
Finding one's voice
Usdan alum Kathryn (Katie) Papa
The second time Usdan alum Kathryn (Katie) Papa auditioned for the Metropolitan Opera, she realized she had forgotten her music. Twenty minutes before the audition was set to start, she taxied to her house 30 blocks north of Lincoln Center, asked the cabbie to leave the meter running, grabbed her music, and made it back with five minutes to spare.
“I walked in the door, and the guy was like, do you have your music? And I was like, YES,” Katie recalled. “I'm so grateful to everyone at the Met for seeing this very sweaty and very out-of-sorts girl come into their audition room and take a chance on me.”
That day, Katie booked her role as part of the extra chorus under maestro Donald Palumbo. She made her debut in 2017 singing Verdi’s Requiem, which she describes as “kismet” because it was a classical choral piece rather than an opera, making it a seamless transition from her background in musical theater and choir.
(L-R) Katie Papa & Theater Lead Teacher James Crichton as Usdan students. “We all brought collective knowledge, and we all wanted each other to be better," Katie said of her classmates.
Katie's love of music, however, is broad and long lasting: At six years old, Katie remembers recording music she had written into an old cassette recorder. This grew into a love of pop music and musical theater — all the interests and skills that would set her up to thrive at Usdan. Katie first attended Usdan in 2000, majoring in Chorus. During her third summer she was undergoing a “musical theater renaissance” in her own life, leading her to change her major to Musical Theater.
“[Usdan’s musical theater program] is where I learned how to actually do it, how to learn a part, be on stage, audition, and do all of these things that have significantly impacted my life.”
Usdan was also the place where Katie surprised everyone with the kind of voice required to become an opera singer: clear and powerful with a rich, resonant tone that leaves an audience clapping for more.
During her last year at Usdan, Katie participated in Usdan’s Repertory Theater (Rep), now called Troupe. That year, Rep put on The Mystery of Edwin Drood — a choose-your-own-ending show — where the main female character, Rosa Bud, is an operatic soprano. During her audition, Rep Director Tom Wallace told Katie she took them by surprise with her operatic singing. She remembers taking herself by surprise, too.
That year, Katie took on the lead role of Rosa Bud.
Katie Papa performing at Usdan.
While Katie still loves singing musical theater and pop music, she found that her voice “just belonged” in the operatic range. Nearly two decades later, Katie sees her time playing Rosa Bud at Usdan as a pivotal moment in her life — one where she was able to better understand the capacity of her voice while learning the ins and outs of performance.
“It was my first major lead role ever, and I felt so supported,” Katie said. “[Tom and Musical Director Annie Pasqua] really took me through every single step and taught me how to be a lead, taught me how to prepare, how to go into rehearsals. They held my hand through it and then just let me fly. It set up a lot of my future singing.”
After graduating high school, Katie attended the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) where she earned her Bachelor of Music and performed at the CCM Opera and other concert halls. She returned to New York City to pursue a master's degree at Mannes College - The New School for Music.
While pursuing a career in music in New York City has its idealisms, Kate found herself in her late 20s asking what was making all the adversity of an extremely hard career worth it.
Putting her deep love of music aside, she found one of the primary reasons driving her decision to be a professional singer was the community and collaboration she found in the work. Nowadays, Katie commits most of her time to chorus work and teaching. She lives and sings in choruses across the city including the New York Philharmonic and Cathedral of St. John the Divine.
The community and camaraderie Katie loves ties back to her time at Usdan, in fact, she says the Usdan community was her favorite part of camp — it has given her a sense of home in the big city. Whether it is at Ripley Greer Rehearsal Studio or on the streets of Midtown, Katie says running into fellow Usdanites tends to include a lot of screaming — they are theater kids, after all.
“We all brought collective knowledge, and we all wanted each other to be better,” Katie said of her classmates at Usdan.
Katie’s most recent show at the Met Opera was Fidelio. Other favorite recent credits include Lauretta in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi at CCM and Opera in the Ozarks, Cinderella in Sondheim’s Into the Woods at Opera in the Ozarks, and Despina in Mozart’s Così fan tutte Opera Cooperative.
Inspired by Kathryn Papa’s story? Want to learn the potential of your own voice? Join Usdan’s Vocal Ensemble or Musical Theater Department. Learn more.
Do you have any Usdan news we should know about? Write to us at media@usdan.org, and we may feature it in our next newsletter or on our social channels!
Support Usdan's Annual Spring Scholarship Drive
Young artists across Long Island and New York City are dreaming of Usdan — a place where their creativity and friendships can flourish. But for many kids, financial barriers stand in the way.
We aim to ensure that cost is not a barrier for any child wishing to attend Usdan. By donating to our Scholarship Fund, you can help us make so many more summer dreams come true. Your gift directly supports young artists — kids brimming with talent, imagination, and a love for the arts — who would not have this opportunity without you.
Fill Out Your Bracket
The games are heating up!
Starting with 16 teams, each round of March Madness — Usdan Arts Edition — asks our community to vote on which Usdan class they believe is the best.
The first round of voting started Friday, March 21. Round Two — AKA the Elite Eight — starts tomorrow, Tuesday, March 25. The Final Four will begin Sunday, March 30, and the Finals will take place the first week of April.
Explore our full list of classes, and let us know what we missed! Vote @UsdanArts on IG.
March is for Music
Join us for a Music Info Session!
Usdan offers Music students of any level opportunities to learn and experiment with their craft. Classes include Composition classes such as Classical Music and Intro to DJ Basics and the History of Hip Hop, large ensembles such as Concert Band and Orchestra, and absolute beginner classes in Guitar and Piano.
If you are new to Usdan’s Music Program, join us tonight, March 24, for a virtual Music Info Session. We will cover the ins and outs of majoring in Music at Usdan, tips for auditioning, and why you should apply for our Music Merit Scholarship by Thursday, May 1.
We made you a mixtape!
March marks Women’s History Month and Long Island’s Music in Our Schools Month. To celebrate, we made you a playlist of our favorite local female musicians. (Usdan alums include Camille Thurman, Jane Monheit, Joanne Borts, and more!)
Did we miss someone? Tag us at @usdanarts with your favorite local female artist, and we will add your song to the mix!
What Have You Been Up To?
Do you have any Usdan news we should know about? Write to us at media@usdan.org, and we may feature your tip in our next newsletter or on our social channels!
'Lose Yourself for a Summer, Find Yourself for a Lifetime.'
— Suzanne Usdan
As trends show a decline in youth well-being and social connectedness, Usdan offers students not only a creative oasis for the summer but an opportunity to cultivate long-term self-esteem and community.
In fact, as published in our 2024 Annual Report, 98% of students reported they felt safe to be themself at Usdan. 98% of students also reported making friends or strengthening their friendships. Usdan is more than just a summer camp — it is a place to find yourself!
Usdan is Hiring!
Join the team
Usdan is a creative and inclusive environment recognized as one of the Top Long Island Workplaces for four consecutive years. Help bring the magic of Usdan to life by joining our team as a full-time employee or as part of our Summer 2025 faculty and staff!
Usdan Out & About Town
(L-R) Former Associate Director of Administration & longtime Usdan supporter Art Schaeffler with Senior Groundskeeper Julio Garcia. For many years, Art and Julio worked together as treasured colleagues to make sure the Usdan grounds were safe and ready for the arrival of Usdan students each June. One of his former colleagues writes of Art: “Usdan would not be the place it is today without Art’s integral leadership and guidance.”
(L–R) Executive Director Lauren Brandt Schloss having dinner in Boston, MA with supporters Jon & Sophie Bronson.
Usdan former colleague reunion! (L–R) Stella Shepherd, Kerry Barnhart, Jillian Greenberg, Olivia Wise & Lauren Brandt Schloss.
Usdan alums often report the excitement of running into fellow Usdanites in the wild — whether backstage, running around midtown Manhattan, or... at the physical therapy office. (L-R) Lauren Brandt Schloss realized former Theater and Dance Major Noelle De Martini, PT, DPT is her new physical therapist!
Calendar
Monday, March 24
Virtual Music Info Session
7:00 p.m. | Zoom
Monday, March 24
March Tuition Assistance Deadline
Apply by March 24
Notification of award by April 1
Sunday, March 30
March Campus Tour — SOLD OUT!
11:00 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 1:30 p.m. | Usdan Campus
Please email enrollment@usdan.org to be added to the waitlist.
Week of March 31
Uniquely U Winners Announced
Full & partial awards | Social media channels
Sunday, April 6
Discovery Playdate & Tour
For kids K-1 & their caregivers
10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | Usdan Campus
Sunday, April 6
Campus Tour — Filling Quickly!
11:00 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 1:30 p.m. | Usdan Campus
Sunday, April 27
SAVE THE DATE: 2025 Poetry Anthology Release Party and Poetry Reading
Usdan Campus
Thursday, May 1
Music Merit Scholarship applications due
Rolling until Thursday, May 1, 11:59 p.m.
