Students find themselves relaxing beside the beach, interning at unique programs or spending time with friends. Freshman Stella Imamichi was performing as part of an ensemble in a full opera performance.

Opera singing began in the early 17th century. It originated in Western Europe, where Italian and French royal palaces were particularly fond of the style. It was a way to bring together various art forms in one performance.

Today, around three centuries later, people still perform operas and learn the techniques, including Imamichi.

Imamichi began her training at the age of eleven, heavily inspired by her mother, who had done opera in high school.

“My family, we like a lot of classical music. It was a good segue going into the opera, learning about opera… kind of looking up to it and thinking, ‘This is so cool,’” she said.

Now, Imamichi practices every week. Imamichi explained that much of the training focuses on supporting one’s sound and projecting one’s voice — a technique that originated from when microphones weren’t available. The training also requires adapting to songs in various European languages, like French, German and Italian.

Imamichi performs occasionally at recitals. Her voice has matured immensely, allowing her to see exciting growth.

“What I’m most proud of is getting a more operatic quality to my voice,” she said.

While acknowledging she’s still young and hasn’t seriously considered it, Imamichi said she is open to the possibility of continuing to pursue the art form as a career.

“I really enjoy doing it, so [it is] definitely something that I’ll probably think about doing, but it’s a very hard world,” she admitted.

Imamichi was homeschooled when she was younger, and came to Masters in seventh grade following her older sister.

“We were trying to find a school that had a good balance between arts and academics. I feel like Masters really had that.”

While she took a break from singing in school this year to focus on her adjustment to high school, Imamichi is playing the violin in string ensemble this year, and plans to join a choral group next year.

In the meantime, she continues to practice operatic singing each week, perfecting the unique skill with the same passion as individuals like her three centuries ago.