Maryland-born soprano ALICIA ROSSER is the second of four children, none of which are musicians and all of which are males. Alicia has always held an appreciation and love for the performing arts. The beginning of her musical exposure can be traced back to early ballet classes, where she heard classical music for the first time.

Alicia merely participated in school choirs until middle school, when classical music “curtsied and said ‘How do you do?’” Under the wing of a very encouraging choral director, she began to sing solos and folk songs and briefly studied piano. She enjoyed it immensely, soon joining the county choral ensembles.

When it was time to advance to high school, her beloved teacher insisted that she attend the public, performing arts high school. The school was in a dangerous and urban community and many people did not support her decision or understand her reasons for going. According to Alicia “the school was not exactly rewarding except in that it exposed me to the world of classical music.”

In high school, Alicia loved the summers because of her time at Boston University Tanglewood Institute (BUTI) and Washington National Opera Institute. “I fell in love with singing and opera at Tanglewood. I can literally recall the rehearsal in which I decided I was going to try and have a singing career.”

Although Alicia has a mild reading disability, she has always been a very studious person. She applied to a total of eleven colleges and conservatories and Eastman was “instinctively” the place to go.

“Eastman embodies all that I love about music and people. I have grown so much in my short time here.” Alicia is a proud recipient of the William Warfield Scholarship and studies voice with Robert McIver.