Mariam Mouawad Continues on her Musical Path

Mariam Mouawad has received her degree in Music Performance in Voice and Opera from the School of Music and Dance at SDSU. The recipient of multiple scholarships in her academic career, Mouawad will be pursuing her Master’s in Music at the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston in the fall, where she will continue along her path to becoming a professional opera singer and reaching her goal to “change the world through music.”

In addition to working with standard opera repertoire, she plans to perfect her fluency with Middle Eastern Music. “I want to forge a path as a singer that takes me all around the world; to the Middle East, Asia, and Europe,” said Mouawad, who wants to eventually create a thriving opera community in Lebanon, where she was born and raised.

In her time at SDSU, her schedule was filled with extensive music classes; GE classes; clubs, such as the Students of National Association of Teachers of Singers (NATS); interning with the San Diego Opera; and studying abroad in Italy. Her weekends were often made up of performances, including three lead roles in operas and two masterworks, alongside the SDSU Symphony Orchestra. “I was able to develop my instrument with the aid of my voice teacher, Laurinda Nikkel, Lecturer and Voice Area Coordinator in the School of Music and Dance, who guided me throughout my journey at SDSU and always encouraged me to take on every challenge that I could,” Mouawad said.

“Don’t worry so much about what is coming up next, because by doing so you could be wasting the best moments of your life,” Mouawad advised incoming freshmen. “Fight your battles one at a time, and don’t be afraid of failing because that is what it takes to win them.”

The content within this article has been edited by Lizbeth Persons.