Daniela Pepe is a first year graduate student at DePaul University majoring in Voice Performance studying with Dr. Viktoria Vizin. She received her bachelor’s degree in Music Performance this past Spring from Florida Gulf Coast University where she studied with Dr. Jeanie Darnell. In Fall 2021, Daniela founded and became the president of the Coalition for Collegiate Musicians of Color. She formed this organization to create a safe space for collegiate musicians of color to facilitate educational and solution based conversations on issues they face in both the professional and education world. In February of 2022, Daniela placed second in the Van Sickle Competition funded by the Southwest Florida Symphony Endowment; that same month Daniela also won first place in her division of the Tampa Bay National Association of Teachers of Singing Competition. A year later, Daniela won first place again at Tampa Bay NATS, as well as the Most Promising Treble Voice overall, and in 2024 continued this streak, winning first place again in her respective category. After winning the State and Regional rounds of the Music Teachers National Association competition in the Young Artist Voice division, Daniela competed in the National division in Atlanta and won first place in her category. Her previous roles include Hansel from Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, Marcelina in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Maria in scenes from Astor Piazzolla’s Maria de Buenos Aires, and most recently, Dido in Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell. Daniela hopes to use her work in opera as a way to invite new audiences into the classical music space by creating
