Singing up a storM

idiom. [... ʌp ə stɔrm]
1. used for emphasizing that someone does something with all their energy, strength, and ability.

Soprano Nicole Van Every, known for her versatility and distinctive warm timbre, has been hailed as “beautiful and magnificent,” “excelling in every category,” and providing a “stunning feast for the ears” by critics in the United States and Europe. Extremely versatile, she has delivered stand-out performances in repertoire ranging from Verdi’s La traviata to Haydn’s Die Schöpfung to Orff’s Carmina Burana. Recent solo engagements include: Haydn's Paukenmesse for a nationally broadcast performance at the Stephansdom in Vienna, Austria; the Polish premiere of Einhorn's Voices of Light in Legnica, Poland; the premiere of Andriotis' Prayer in Athens, Greece; Mozart's Exsultate, jubilate with the Fort Smith Symphony; the title roles in La Traviata and Tosca with Painted Sky Opera; Carmina Burana with the Oklahoma City Ballet and Philharmonic; and she was honored to be a part of the premiere of Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate’s opera Loksi' Shaali' in October 2024, singing the role of Loksi'’s mother. She performed the role again for the East Coast premiere at Mount Holyoke last February. Last summer, she traveled to Poland and Austria for additional singing engagements, including Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and Haydn’s Harmoniemesse. She was last heard as the soprano soloist with Canterbury Voices and the Oklahoma City Philharmonic in this season’s performances of Messiah and Mozart’s Requiem. Her next engagement includes additional performances of Loksi’ Shaali’ with Wilmington Concert Opera in Wilmington, DE.

Nicole is a winner of the Berkeley BCCO Soloist award, the American Prize in Oratorio Performance, the Classical Singer Magazine Summer Competition, and was a Regionals Finalist of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Equally at home in musical theater and jazz repertoire, she has performed lead roles in Little Shop of Horrors, Cabaret, The Fantasticks, Tintypes, The Music Man, and Milk & Honey. Originally from Iowa, she earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Voice from The University of Oklahoma in 2016, where she studied with baritone Kim Josephson and mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne. She proudly served on the faculty at The University of Oklahoma (2016-2019), where she taught voice and diction, and The University of Central Oklahoma (2017), where she taught voice and directed Cantilena. 

In addition to music, Nicole has a true love for weather. She has traveled to China, Taiwan, and Mexico to assist in meteorological modernization projects for governmental weather bureaus. She has also taught courses for the OU School of Meteorology, one of the top meteorological programs in the world. When she is not singing, she is working for the National Weather Association in Norman, Oklahoma, working as a research associate in forensic meteorology, and chasing storms across the plains. Her dissertation, titled “The Effects of Atmospheric Conditions on the Singer,” is the first cohesive document of its kind to explore the effects of temperature, humidity, and pressure on the voice. She is currently finishing her degree in Meteorology at Mississippi State University.