Romance at the Opera
Love is in the air as the CWSO is joined by vocalists Natalie Cummings and Austin Bradley – two lovebirds that met while singing opera! Enjoy operatic favorites from Mozart, Puccini, Verdi, and much more! We will also feature a rising talent as the winner of our annual Jenkins Family Young Artist Concerto Competition.
Natalie Cummings Bio
Natalie Cummings, Soprano, has been praised as having “(a) lush, full-bodied and beautiful tone” by the Austin-American Statesman and “a big voice that didn’t sacrifice purity of tone for volume” by the New Orleans Times-Picayune. A teacher and performer from Austin, Texas, Dr. Cummings holds a Bachelor’s degree from Illinois Wesleyan University and Master’s and Doctoral degrees from the University of Texas at Austin. Equally interested in solo and choral performance and pedagogy, she was awarded the Joan Frey Boytim Award for Independent Teachers from the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and served as a section leader for the 2021 TMEA All State Treble Choir. In 2024 she served as a NATS Intern and was awarded the NATS Emerging Leader Award. She was the Independent Studio Teacher Liaison for the Texoma region of NATS as well as serving on their High School Vocal Fellowship committee. Her interests include the alignment of solo and choral pedagogy, voice science, equity and accessibility in the voice studio, and issues of gender and race in vocal pedagogy and she has presented her research on these topics to the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA), American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), and the Texas Choral Directors Association (TCDA).
A two-time Houston District winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Awards and National Semi-Finalist of that same competition, Dr. Cummings has also twice been awarded Second Place in the Texoma NATSAA Competition, as well as earning the 2023 Linda Poetschke People’s Choice and the Liederkranz Awards, along with numerous others. She enjoys making music with her husband, Austin who is also a performer and music educator, and her two very theatrical children.
Austin Bradley Bio
Austin Bradley received his Master’s of Music from the University of Texas at Austin after completing his Bachelor’s of Music at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. He was named a Presser Scholar at Oberlin Conservatory for his academic success and potential as a music educator. In 2020, he was named a Boytim Award Winner for Independent Teachers. He maintains a teaching studio of piano and voice students. In addition to teaching privately, he is a certified music educator in Wisconsin and is music director/pianist/choral conductor for a local church.
Concert Details
Date: February 14, 2026
Location: Sentry Theater
Start Time: 7:30pm (arrive one hour early for a free Pre-Concert talk with Music Director Andy Moran)
Featured Artists: Natalie Cummings, soprano & Austin Bradley, baritone
Concert Program
Overture to Nabucco – Guiseppe Verdi
Almost Like Being in Love from “Brigadoon” – Frederick Loewe & Alan Jay Lerner
La ci darem la mano from “Don Giovanni” – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Si, mi chiamano Mimi from “La Boheme” – Giacomo Puccini
And more…
Listen Before You Go
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