Arts Council Menifee‘s selection for October’s Artist of the Month is local opera singer, Chelsea Snow. A young artist, who has achieved more in her fourteen years than many people could ever dream to achieve in a lifetime. Chelsea’s family has been no stranger to the entertainment industry; her grandfather was a Grammy winning recording artist, producer, and content creator, so it was no surprise that Chelsea would find her creative spark at a very young age. Her first experience with opera was on a family vacation to Las Vegas when she was only 8 years old.

“We saw Phantom of the Opera and I remember seeing Christine and The Phantom. I wanted to sing just like them,” Chelsea reflects.

The family was able to find a local opera instructor, who hailed from Romania, to help Chelsea realize her potential as an opera singer and performer. She has been inspired by opera singers such as Angela Giorgio and Anna Netrebko (both of whom she saw in concert when she was twelve years old). Chelsea has taken regular lessons for over five years and has gone on to perform at countless venues throughout the local community, the state, and even the world.

Chelsea has performed in a number of high-profile events, many of which have been televised. One of her most recent events was also one of the most exciting (and prestigious). Chelsea competed in an international competition known as the Chinese Water Cube Cup. The competition had nearly 7,000 auditions from over 30 countries. The finalists from each respective countries flew to Beijing, China to compete in the finals. Chelsea was selected as the grand-prize winner, featured heavily in Chinese media, and was even given a special song to perform in Chinese for the country’s news media.

“Here’s a funny story,” Chelsea begins, “they gave me a song written in Chinese, that I don’t even speak, and had me memorize it to perform just hours later! It was difficult to piece the song together using just melody and sound.”

Chelsea was in the studio hours later and successfully recorded her parts with the help of her mother and a supportive studio staff.

2019 has been a great year for Chelsea Snow; she has already won 12 competitions. She has won the Chinese Water Cube Cup (event described above), competed in Long Beach, California at The World Championship of Performing Arts (in which she won 3 gold medals and 1 silver), performed at the Chinese Embassy to celebrate 70 years of Chinese independence, and is set to perform at the 2019 Miss Globe Finals in early October.

When Chelsea is not singing or competing, she enjoys drawing, roller skating, playing the piano, and making funny YouTube videos. Her future aspirations include building upon her musical career and attending Harvard Medical School to study medicine.

Chelsea has been an enriching addition to Menifee’s artistic community. She has performed in Menifee’s Got Talent, and at other events sponsored by Arts Council Menifee. It is for this and her commitment to her craft that ACM is proud to name Chelsea Snow as October’s Artist of the month.