Aiden K. Feltkamp (they/he) began their artistic life at the age of 5 playing a quarter-size cello and now they’re "upending preconceptions about voice and gender" (New York Times) as a trans nonbinary writer and equity specialist.
Aiden’s written work spans the serious and the ridiculous, the real and the surreal. Some of their favorite projects include: an opera with Dana Kaufman about Emily Dickinson’s queerness, an interactive fiction experience about alien communication coded in Javascript (“Hello, Aria”), new English translations of Jewish lesbian erotic poet Marie-Madeleine’s work (The Priestess of Morphine with Rosśa Crean), and a four-part series decoupling gender and voice types. Most recently, their work has been commissioned by Cantus, Amherst College, and Strange Trace Opera, and has been published in PBS' American Masters series, OPERA America Magazine, Sparks & Wiry Cries Magazine, Crêpe & Penn, and NewMusicBox.
Aiden recently conceived of and curated the award-winning Anthology of New Music for Trans & Nonbinary Voices, Vol. 1 for NewMusicShelf. Developed through their mentorship with pianist and coach Kathleen Kelly through their fellowship with Turn the Spotlight, this is the first vocal anthology to center transgender and nonbinary voices – serving vocal teachers searching for new repertoire for their studios, presenters expanding the diversity of their programming, and singers of any gender seeking out new works. It was awarded a Paul Revere Award from the Music Publishers Association of the United States for Piano-Vocal Music Notesetting and the 2022 Hedwig Holbrook Prize for curation.
As an equity and inclusion specialist, they consult for performing arts organizations, funders, universities, and businesses. They received their Certificate in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion from Cornell University and have worked with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, the League of American Orchestras, and the LA Phil, among others. They are a cabinet member for Victory Hall Opera's SINGTANK collective and a member of OPERA America's Communications Council, advising on the OPERA America Magazine. They also serve on the Inclusion Advisory Council for the Boulanger Initiative. From 2018-2022, they wrangled composers and arts administrators as the first-ever Director of Diversity & Composer Advancement for the American Composers Orchestra.
Before pursuing their medical transition, Aiden performed opera professionally as a mezzo-soprano, specializing in Baroque opera and new music. Their most fulfilling roles include Hansel, Prince Orlofsky, Cherubino, Ottavia in L’incoronazione di Poppea (especially in a Baroque gesture production with director Drew Minter), and Elizabeth in the World and NY premieres of Griffin Candey’s Sweets by Kate. They continue to train their new bass-baritone voice and have recently performed as Figaro in ChamberQUEER’s abridged Le Nozze di Figaro.
They graduated from Bard College Conservatory’s Graduate Vocal Arts Program (under the direction of Dawn Upshaw) with a Masters of Music, and received their B.S. in Vocal Performance from Hofstra University. They hold certifications in Leadership (Baruch College, New York Community Trust), DEI (Cornell University), and Data Science (BrainStation). They currently live in Jersey City with their partner, cat, parrots, and robot dog.
Aiden’s written work spans the serious and the ridiculous, the real and the surreal. Some of their favorite projects include: an opera with Dana Kaufman about Emily Dickinson’s queerness, an interactive fiction experience about alien communication coded in Javascript (“Hello, Aria”), new English translations of Jewish lesbian erotic poet Marie-Madeleine’s work (The Priestess of Morphine with Rosśa Crean), and a four-part series decoupling gender and voice types. Most recently, their work has been commissioned by Cantus, Amherst College, and Strange Trace Opera, and has been published in PBS' American Masters series, OPERA America Magazine, Sparks & Wiry Cries Magazine, Crêpe & Penn, and NewMusicBox.
Aiden recently conceived of and curated the award-winning Anthology of New Music for Trans & Nonbinary Voices, Vol. 1 for NewMusicShelf. Developed through their mentorship with pianist and coach Kathleen Kelly through their fellowship with Turn the Spotlight, this is the first vocal anthology to center transgender and nonbinary voices – serving vocal teachers searching for new repertoire for their studios, presenters expanding the diversity of their programming, and singers of any gender seeking out new works. It was awarded a Paul Revere Award from the Music Publishers Association of the United States for Piano-Vocal Music Notesetting and the 2022 Hedwig Holbrook Prize for curation.
As an equity and inclusion specialist, they consult for performing arts organizations, funders, universities, and businesses. They received their Certificate in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion from Cornell University and have worked with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, the League of American Orchestras, and the LA Phil, among others. They are a cabinet member for Victory Hall Opera's SINGTANK collective and a member of OPERA America's Communications Council, advising on the OPERA America Magazine. They also serve on the Inclusion Advisory Council for the Boulanger Initiative. From 2018-2022, they wrangled composers and arts administrators as the first-ever Director of Diversity & Composer Advancement for the American Composers Orchestra.
Before pursuing their medical transition, Aiden performed opera professionally as a mezzo-soprano, specializing in Baroque opera and new music. Their most fulfilling roles include Hansel, Prince Orlofsky, Cherubino, Ottavia in L’incoronazione di Poppea (especially in a Baroque gesture production with director Drew Minter), and Elizabeth in the World and NY premieres of Griffin Candey’s Sweets by Kate. They continue to train their new bass-baritone voice and have recently performed as Figaro in ChamberQUEER’s abridged Le Nozze di Figaro.
They graduated from Bard College Conservatory’s Graduate Vocal Arts Program (under the direction of Dawn Upshaw) with a Masters of Music, and received their B.S. in Vocal Performance from Hofstra University. They hold certifications in Leadership (Baruch College, New York Community Trust), DEI (Cornell University), and Data Science (BrainStation). They currently live in Jersey City with their partner, cat, parrots, and robot dog.
