Soprano Linda Poetschke’s career has spanned over 40 years and she has enjoyed numerous appearances with symphony orchestras and regional opera companies across the Southwest. Opera roles include: Norina (DON PASQUALE), Musetta (LA BOHEME), Despina (COSI FAN TUTTI), Marie (DAUGHTER OF THE REGIMENT), Madame Silverklang (IMPRESARIO), Violetta (LA TRAVIATA), and Pamina (THE MAGIC FLUTE).
As featured soloist, Ms. Poetschke has performed nationally with the New Mexico Symphony, the Charlotte (NC) Symphony, and the Western Michigan Symphony. She has also performed as soprano soloist with the New York West End Chamber Orchestra in a Carnegie Hall appearance of REQUIEM by W.A. Mozart. Regionally, she has performed as soloist with the major symphony orchestras in her home state of Texas (Ft. Worth, Austin, Mid-Texas, Laredo, East Texas, Sherman, Corpus Christi, Brazos symphonies), as well as the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s Christmas POPS at the Meyerson and numerous appearances with the San Antonio Symphony.
Linda has appeared as soloist for the national conventions of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) in San Antonio and San Diego and also the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS). She has also been a presenter and adjudicator for the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) national conference. She frequently performed as a recitalist on university campuses and has also performed sacred recitals and concerts in Czech Republic, Switzerland, Germany, London, and Paris.
Ms. Poetschke is an active participant in the musical community of San Antonio as a member of the Tuesday Musical Club and also as a past recipient of the San Antonio Women’s Hall of Fame Award in Creative Arts. She has also been the subject of a featured article in San Antonio Woman magazine. Linda was the first recipient of the George Cortez Award for Classical Singing presented by the San Antonio Arts Foundation.
Linda is the Co-Founder and Program Director, as well as teacher for the Taos Opera Institute in Taos, New Mexico [www.taosoi.org] celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2017. She has taught in the Czech Republic and at the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS) in Graz, Austria. Her students have performed at prestigious summer programs such as Santa Fe Opera, Merola (San Francisco Opera), Opera North, American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, Des Moines Opera, Cincinnati Opera, and Taos Opera Institute. Former students have performed at the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Pittsburg Opera, and San Francisco Opera.
Ms. Poetschke holds Vocal Performance degrees from the University of North Texas at Denton, and the University of Texas at Austin. For the past 32 years, Linda has been a member of the music faculty as Professor of Voice at the University of Texas at San Antonio. An endowed vocal scholarship in Linda Poetschke’s name has been established at UT-San Antonio in the Department of Music where she served as Coordinator of the Vocal Area from 1989 to 2011. Upon her retirement from UTSA in May 2016, Linda was awarded the title of Professor Emeritus.
