Spotlight on Katlyn Iacovino

Katlyn Iacovino always enjoyed singing. When she was little, she sang around the house, and when she got to middle school, she joined her school choir.

It wasn’t until high school though that Katlyn began thinking seriously about becoming a professional singer.

As a freshman at Riverview High School, she met a senior who was interested in opera.

“I thought that was very unusual and she was a big inspiration to me,” said Katlyn, 17, now starting her senior year at Riverview.

Last year, she began looking for music programs to study voice and she found the Patel Conservatory in Tampa.

“The whole experience of being there overwhelmed me in a good way. I felt everyone was very supportive of each other,” she said.

She started at the Conservatory with private voice lessons with music chair, Gregory Ruffer.

“I realized if I want to take this seriously, I need to take that next step,” said Katlyn. “Working with Greg helped me learn more about myself and what I can do. I was challenged more.”

She joined the Conservatory’s senior choir, and, in May, was the recipient of the Patel Conservatory’s Spotlight Award for Outstanding Student Achievement in Music.

Katlyn says that being at the Conservatory has provided her with exceptional opportunities to study and train with talented professionals and students alike.

“It opened me up to new experiences beyond what I could imagine,” she said.

Last year, she was chosen to be part of the Opera Tampa Chorus, and, this past summer, she participated in the Conservatory’s Classical Voice Intensive during which she took master classes with world renowned instructors including Beverley Rinaldi and Mark Lubas.

The Classical Voice Intensive “was the best experience ever. I got to work with kids my age and grad students and undergraduate students. It was like a glimpse of what it would be like to be in college focusing on music,” she said. “The group was absolutely amazing and so supportive.”

This fall, she intends to take a musical theater class to try something different and get more performance experience. She recently auditioned for PCYT’s production of Kiss Me, Kate.

“Being at the Conservatory six days a week, I’ve discovered this is my niche, this is what I want.”