Melinda Harper is thrilled to join Opera Idaho as a Resident Artist and an Associate Director of Children’s Choruses, specifically for Kinder Chorus. Melinda has a love for early childhood music education, and she currently teaches Kindergarten through 2nd grade music at Idaho Arts Charter School in Nampa, ID.
 
 Melinda earned a Bachelor of Music in Elementary Music Education from Brigham Young University in 2019 and a Master of Music Education from Wichita State University in 2024. Melinda is also a Level III certified Kodály music educator through the Organization of American Kodály Educators. 
 
 Melinda also has experience as a performer in choirs and operas. She sang in the Brigham Young University Women’s Chorus and Concert Choir.  She sang with the Utah Symphony Chorus for two seasons. She also performed with the Utah Symphony Chorus in Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 at the Grand Teton Music Festival. Her opera roles include Second Witch in Dido and Aeneas (BYU Opera Theater) and Schwertleite in Die Walküre (Manhattan Opera Studio). Melinda sang in the chorus for Theodora, Die Zauberflöte, and L’elisir d’amore with BYU Opera Theater. She also performed in the chorus for Candide with Wichita Grand Opera. She is looking forward to singing in the chorus with Opera Idaho for the 2024-2025 season.