Nadya Hill played the role of Adele in this fall's "Die Fledermaus."
Nadya Hill is a vocalist. A violinist. A visual artist. A full-stack Javascript web developer. But on Friday night and Sunday afternoon, as she performs in Eklund Opera鈥檚 season-ending 鈥淩ed Hot and Cole,鈥� she鈥檒l just be Linda Porter.
鈥淚 get to sing 鈥業n the Still of the Night,鈥� which is for sure my favorite Cole Porter song. I鈥檓 really excited.鈥�
The Denver native graduates this May with a master鈥檚 degree in voice performance, and after turns in opera classics 鈥淒ie Fledermaus,鈥� 鈥淭he Magic Flute,鈥� 鈥淟'incoronazione di Poppea鈥� and 鈥淐os矛 fan tutte,鈥� she鈥檚 looking forward to going out on a slightly different note.
鈥溾�楻ed Hot and Cole鈥� is really more musical theatre than opera,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also wonderful to be able to work with [Professor of Theatre and director] Bud Coleman. He鈥檚 an amazing person and a brilliant director.鈥�
Music is in Hill鈥檚 blood: Her father is principal timpanist for the Colorado Symphony, her mother is a violinist and her brother Colin is a junior jazz drum major at CU. Hill started playing violin as a child and since then, music has been intertwined with everything in her life.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to say exactly why music is so important, because for me, it鈥檚 just necessary and omnipresent. It鈥檚 as much of a need to me as eating, breathing or sleeping.鈥�
Anyone who鈥檚 watched Hill perform can plainly see that passion shining through in her skill and engaging stage presence. So, with all that natural musical talent going for her, why computer programming?
A series of twists and turns altered Hill鈥檚 vision of her future, after a couple of bouts with tendinitis put her violin career in jeopardy. The second time the condition flared up鈥攚hile she was an undergraduate violinist at the University of Michigan鈥攕he saw herself at a fork in the road.
鈥淚 got tendinitis in my back, neck and arms horribly my freshman year鈥攖o the point where I couldn鈥檛 play,鈥� she recalls. 鈥淪o my roommate suggested I try voice lessons for fun. After about six months, I got into the voice program there.鈥�
Fast forward to her time at CU Boulder, and Hill has had roles in five operas, seemingly putting the uncertainty of the past behind her. But for a perfectionist, it wasn鈥檛 enough.
鈥淎fter my first year of grad school, I was overwhelmed by the possibility that I might not be able to support myself as a musician. So I started teaching myself to code; then I took a 10-week intensive course in Boulder.
鈥淚鈥檒l always be a singer and a violinist, but now I鈥檒l always be a computer programmer as well. The world of professional musicians is notoriously financially unpredictable, so there鈥檚 something comforting in knowing that while I have the skills to be a professional performer, I can also always know where my next meal is coming from.鈥�
Now Hill, who manages the website for the in her free time, has yet another creative outlet.
鈥淐oding听is听definitely an art form in itself,鈥� she says. 鈥淭o make a successful website, it has to be fun, easy to navigate, and personalized for each individual business, which ends up feeling like solving puzzles all day. I also love programming dorky and entertaining little Easter eggs into websites鈥攚ith the business鈥檚 permission, of course!鈥�
And as if that weren鈥檛 enough on her plate, violin is also still very much a part of her life. Once a week, Hill makes the trek south of Denver, where she sits as concertmaster for the
She says she鈥檚 able to do it because singing helped her get her health issues under control.
鈥淪inging is such a different approach to music than violin that I found I was actually able to play violin better after I started singing,鈥� she says. 鈥淧hysically, I found tension singing where no one was able to see it before. And that helped me feel a lot better, too.鈥�
As her time in Boulder draws to a close, the Jill of All Trades hopes to put her many skills to use wherever her path leads her next. And she鈥檒l look fondly on the lessons she learned and friends she made at the College of Music.
鈥淚鈥檒l really miss working with such amazing colleagues and teachers,鈥� she says. 鈥淚鈥檝e been really lucky to be surrounded by incredibly supportive people here.鈥�
鈥淩ed Hot and Cole鈥� is Thursday, April 27 through Sunday, April 30. For tickets, visit .
