Holland Community Opera Fellowship
The Holland Community Opera Fellowship brings community focused teaching artists to live and work in Omaha.
Launched in 2017, the Holland Community Opera Fellowship (HCOF) leads the opera field in civic practice by deepening relationships outside of performance venues. Our team engages in the Omaha metro community each season bringing artistry and connection to a variety of long-term and short-term co-created community-based programs. Programming is focused on creativity and inspiration, utilizing the elements of opera (drama, word, art, movement and music) in community-based settings.
AS A FELLOWSHIP WE
BUILD relationships and engage in collaboration with community partners
EMPOWER individuals to explore their creativity through the elements of opera (drama, word, art, movement and music)
COLLABORATE with others in programming that amplifies and supports the mission of our partners
CREATE opportunities for safe expression, including a full range of emotions
INSPIRE and cultivate a diverse, empathetic, and creative community in Omaha
BELIEFS
We find different ways to engage both artists and the community to expand the experience of opera
Collaboration is the core of our work
Opera should be accessible to anyone and welcoming to everyone
HCOF partners are experts in their communities, and we rely on them to identify the needs of the people they serve
VALUES
Collaborative | Creative | Engaging | Expressive | Innovative | Respectful | Responsive | Transformational | Pride in Service
Interested in Joining the Team?
The Holland Community Opera Fellowship is looking for great teaching artists to join the team. If you feel passionate about our mission, have a connection to opera, and are interested in taking an active role in being a change agent in the community, you might be a good fit.
Applications for the 2026-2027 season will be open on December 15, 2025 and close on January 15, 2026 at 5 pm CST. Application information, including the link to apply can be at the link below.
Community Partners & Programming
Each year the Holland Community Opera Fellowship (HCOF) collaborates with more than a dozen local community partners across the Omaha metropolitan area. HCOF’s priority is to help community partners reach their goals, as they work to provide a better quality of life for their communities and serve those who may have limited access to arts experience and programming. Programming is focused on creativity and inspiration with the art form of opera as a toolbox, not teaching opera.
Some examples of recent co-created programming with community partners include:
- Music and acting workshops with participants from Quality Living Inc. (QLI) and Ollie Webb Center, Inc. QLI is a residential rehabilitation facility for individuals with traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, and Ollie Webb Center Inc.’s Art of Imagination Program serves adults with disabilities.
- Creativity and writing workshops with adult residents at MICAH House. MICAH House is an emergency housing shelter that serves families and women.
- Visual art and music workshops to support connection and memory building with members of the Intercultural Senior Center. Intercultural Senior Center serves seniors across Omaha, including those from immigrant and refugee communities. You can view the ISC Songbook project created with HCOF Fellows in Fall 2020 on our blog.
- Creative storytime and art workshops focused on celebrating culture and bilingual abilities with preschool children and families at the Learning Community Center of South Omaha.
"Opera is just like everything we do at Gotta Be Me – you experience it, feel it, be there in all the moments to get it – to let it touch you and become part of who you are. And then to make it your own. Throughout our time together the technical skills we have learned were evident and important. However, the most meaningful things to come from our partnership have been the changes in our crew as people, humans who are becoming who they want to be."
—Tiffiny Clifton, Gotta Be Me
Since 2018, HCOF has collaborated with Gotta Be Me on a variety of classes, workshops, and productions.
"Through music and art, I learned to channel my emotions. I felt very comfortable and safe and the workshops were very beneficial to me. I gained new ideas of how I can be creative. I am a little more artistic than I thought!"
— HCOF workshop participant
25/26 Programming Partners
Abz Cameron (they/them) is a queer, neurodivergent multi-disciplinary artist and lifelong storyteller. With nearly two decades of acting experience on Omaha-area stages, Abz also works across visual mediums like charcoal, printmaking, sculpture, SFX makeup, collage, and digital design. Their creative practice is rooted in storytelling as a form of connection and resistance. In 2019, Abz was part of the ensemble behind Little Wars, a devised theater piece performed at the Edinburgh Fringe and Region 4 KCACTF. They also originated the role of Rachel in Dave Osmundsen’s More of a Heart at BLUEBARN Theatre. As an arts educator and former Artistic Specialist with the Ollie Webb Center, Inc., Abz builds accessible programming that centers creative freedom and community. Through diverse mediums, Abz seeks to inspire others to express their individual truth, depth, chaos, silliness, and joy. They love authentically representing the vast human experience through the exploration and healing power of collaboration.
Tobias J. Garcia (he/they) is a multifaceted theatre artist originally from Goshen, IN, with specializations in educational theatre, props design, and puppetry. Tobias has worked professionally with the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival for 4 seasons, as a stage manager, props designer, and most recently as a puppet artisan and puppeteer in their production of As You Like It. Tobias has also done a variety of work at community level with the South Bend Civic Theatre and the Robinson Shakespeare Company to bring quality theatre education to youth in the South Bend region as a teaching artist in their outreach programs. Tobias hopes to continue their journey as a teaching artist through the amazing opportunity this fellowship offers. Eventually they will be looking to pursue an MFA in theatre education, while hoping to find a way to inject a little puppetry magic into their studies as well!
Chloe Janae Gormley (she/her) is a passionate Filipino-American teaching artist and visual artist. She is dedicated to using the arts to narrate perspectives of minorities and individuals with diverse backgrounds through her art. Having worked as a Creative Director for Bahay Sibol Inc., a children's home in her hometown, Chloe has gained insight into how art can be used as a tool for learning and transformation. Before graduating, Chloe interned for Filipino Visual Artists Marina Cruz and Rodel Tapaya under Istorya Studios Inc., where she was further encouraged to use her art to tell stories. She recently graduated magna cum laude from the University of Santo Tomas with a Bachelors in Fine Arts. Chloe was recognized for her Thesis, which focused on visualizing the voices of both domestic and transnational Filipino adoptees to bring further awareness to the issues vulnerable and at-risk children face.
Aiden James Poling (he/him) is a versatile creative professional and teaching artist from Shreveport, Louisiana. He holds BFAs in both Theatre and Studio Art, two areas of study which have shaped his career across stage, film, directing, and design. Some of his favorite stage credits include roles such as Jack Kelly (Newsies), Moritz Stiefel (Spring Awakening), Canary Jim (Not About Nightingales), and Little Bat (Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah). Since moving to Omaha three years ago, he has served in leadership roles for several arts organizations. Aiden is also an actor for the Omaha Community Playhouse’s VROOM! Mobile Sensory Theatre, one-of-a-kind traveling immersive experience designed for audiences with autism, developmental delays, or other sensory sensitivities. Aiden is passionate about utilizing his talents to assist in creating inclusive, accessible spaces where the arts can be enjoyed by all, and he’s thrilled to continue to do so in his second year in the HCOF program!
25/26 Fellowship Team
Pictured from left to right:
Tobias J. Garcia, First Year Fellow
Chloe Janae Gormley, First Year Fellow
Wendy Kaiser, Community Opera Fellowship Manager
Aiden James Poling, Second Year Fellow
Lauren Medici, Director of Partnerships and Programs
Abz Cameron, First Year Fellow
Community Panel
The Community Panel represents a diverse group of local community members who are committed to the success and future of the Holland Community Opera Fellowship. The panel considers high level strategic decisions and priorities, helping guide the Fellowship as it serves the community. The panel is also a critical part of the Fellow selection process as they participate in informal meetings and interviews with final Fellow candidates. They convene as a group to review feedback from all candidates and provide their recommendation to Opera Omaha staff.
25/26 Community Panel
Ang R. Bennett, I Be Black Girl
Tiffiny Clifton, Gotta Be Me
Geri Knight, Community Consultant
Rachel Morgan, Nebraska Arts Council
Carrie Nath, Arts Access & Outreach Consultant
Rita Paskowitz, Storyteller
John Paul, Joslyn Castle & Gardens
Wildey Rodriguez, Intercultural Senior Center
Lee Emma Running, Artist
Justin Spooner, Colliers Nebraska
Gina Tranisi, Writer
Paula Wallace, Artist
Gwyn Williams, Independent Leadership Coach
Fellowship Alumni
Rosemary Joyce, 2024-2025
Alejandra Sandoval-Montañez, 2023-2025
Taylor Adams, 2022-2024
Charisa Ramsey, 2022-2024
Jazmin Salaberrios, 2023
Jaime Marie Webb, 2021-2023
Jared Hiscock, 2019-2022
Fernando Antonio Montejano, 2019-2023
Nicholas Davis, 2020-2021
Gwenna Fairchild-Taylor, 2019-2021
Kate Pomrenke, 2018-2020
Jessica Johnson Brock, 2017-2019
Chabrelle Williams, 2017-2019
Holland Community Opera Fellowship Sponsors
Arts Education and Community Engagement Programs Sponsored by
