Colombian-American Soprano, Maria Caycedo, 
has loved the performing arts her entire life. She grew up singing and dancing to all kinds of music, from Colombian vallenato to Nat King Cole. She is trained in a variety of dance styles including Irish-step dancing, ballet, hip hop, and Latin dancing. She apprenticed with Highlands Ballet Company in Abingdon, Virginia for a few years before attending the Alabama School of Fine Arts High School for voice. It was under the instruction of Laura Doss that her love for classical vocal repertoire developed. She attended the Bel Canto Institute’s youth summer vocal program the first year they had it in Florence, Italy.
In college, Maria took a break from intensive vocal studies and earned a BA in Psychology from the University of Virginia. She is fortunate to use this degree as a User Experience Researcher during the day and is enjoying full-time employment along with an active performance schedule.
Maria has sung with Pocket Opera, Opera Birmingham, Island City Opera, Phenix Opera, West Bay Opera, Opera Cultura, Lamplighters Music Theater, Verismo Opera, and San Jose Lyric Theater. Roles include Berenice (L’occasione fa il ladro), Adele (Die Fledermaus), Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi), Lucy (The Telephone), Musetta (La Boheme), and Frasquita (Carmen). Maria has premiered several roles in musical theater and opera: Pammy in the musical Finding Medusa by Jeff Dunn and Madeline Puccioni, Quinn in the musical Castle Happy by Jeff Dunn & John Freed, and Temple Member in the gospel-chamber opera Heaven Down Here (2014) by Andrew Jamieson, which was showcased at the 2017 National Opera Association Annual Convention.
Comfortable in many genres, Maria sings musical theater as well as blues, classic rock, a capella and jazz. She has sung lead vocals for Up and to the Right, a cover band located in the heart of Silicon Valley. She is the female backup vocalist for Brightshine. She has collaborated with emcees, rappers and hip-hop artists through the Bay Area Theatre Cypher. She also has some film experience – commercials, opera film projects, and music videos for local artists.
Aside from always improving as a performer, Maria aims to take care of her mind-heart and body through meditation and yoga. She did a two month silent Vipassana meditation retreat at Spirit Rock that taught her self-love (a skill all performers should have) and the value of stillness. She hopes to continue this beautiful practice even in the busiest of times!