Happy Holidays!  Soloist Biographies

Tim O’Brien

Dr.  Tim O’Brien has sung with Austin Opera, Austin Symphony, Austin Shakespeare, the Minnesota Opera, LOLA, Conspirare, Texas Early Music Project, Ensemble VIII, the Dale Warland Singers, and toured nationally and internationally with the Rose Ensemble. Past performances include Le nozze di Figaro, Into the Woods, Ariadne auf Naxos and Sweeney Todd with the Butler Opera Center, as well as Verdi’s Don Carlo and The Elixir Project with Austin Opera.  Dr. O’Brien’s  “vibrant and subtle” singing was praised by Oregon Artswatch,   Willamette Week noted his “rich, dark palette,” and the St. Paul Pioneer Press praised his “strong, yet vulnerable” portrayal of Purcell’s  Aeneas.   A three-time Grammy nominee, Tim’s performances can be heard on more than a dozen commercial recordings, and recently on HBO’s Emmy-winning show, White Lotus.   Tim is  Director of Music at St. Martin’s Lutheran Church and serves on the faculty of Texas State University. He  has held prior posts  on the faculties of Gustavus Adolphus College, Concordia University, and St. Edward’s University. Tim  holds a Master’s degree in Musicology from the University of Minnesota, and a doctorate in vocal performance from the University of Texas.

Katherine Altobello O’Brien

Mezzo-soprano Katherine Altobello O’Brien is thrilled to return on the ACO stage this holiday season!  Katherine has been hailed a “spitfire…having the energy, concentration, and stamina to make it look easy.” (Daily Progress News, Charlottesville, VA). Katherine has well-versed experience in opera, oratorio, recital, and musical theater.  Ms. Altobello has performed with the New York City Ballet, San Diego Opera, Austin Opera, National Chorale at Lincoln Center, Manhattan School of Music, New York City’s “Sing For Hope, Sing for Home”, Tulsa Opera, The Knoxville Symphony, Opera in the Heights, Ash-Lawn Opera, LOLA, Alamo City Opera, Lexington Music and Theatre Company, Janiec Opera, Music for All, Wildwood Opera, Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Austin, Austin Chamber Ensemble, Texas Bach Festival, Georgetown Festival of the Arts, San Gabriel Chorale, KMFA Radio, Indiana University, St. Edward’s University, Southwestern University, Living Paper Song Project, among others. Favorite roles include Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, Hansel in Hänsel und Gretel, Madame Larina in Eugene Onegin, Schaunard in La Bohème, Mercedes in Carmen, Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd, and Liesl in The Sound of Music. Solo engagements include: Bach’s Oster Oratorium, Weihnachtsoratorium, and Messe in h-moll, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Bruckner’s Te Deum, Copland’s In the Beginning, Goodall’s Eternal Light, Handel’s Messiah and Samson, Haydn’s Paukenmesse, Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, Mozart’s Requiem, and Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil.  Premieres include: Damien Geter’s Cantata for a More Hopeful Tomorrow, and Mack Wilber’s Requiem. Favorite accolades include: Jake Heggie’s Paper Wings under the direction of Warren Jones in collaboration with Manhattan School of Music and Living Paper Song Project’s I, too: the Voices of Langston Hughes, winning “Best Chamber Ensemble ” at the Austin Critics Table Awards. In addition to performing, Katherine teaches voice at Southwestern University, and sings extensively with St. Martin’s Lutheran Church and Congregation Beth Israel.  Ms. Altobello O’Brien is a proud member of AGMA.  She holds a Master of Music in Voice from Indiana University, and resides with her daughter and husband Tim O’Brien in her hometown of Austin.