In 2025, One Ounce Opera re-imagined opera in a new venue, introduced you to new micro-works and new local singers, and earned nods and recognition that made our hearts explode.
In a year filled with good stuff for OOO and our collaborators & community, a few moments deserve to be highlighted. Here is a quick wrap-up of the growth, beauty, and connectedness we experienced in 2025.
One Ounce Opera wins 2 B. Iden Payne Awards in 2025
During the annual celebration, OOO's 15 nominations resulted in 2 big wins for Outstanding Production of a Short Play (2nd year in a row), and Outstanding Original Short Script – both for Tyler Mabry's micro-opera "Ray Bradbury...", part of the 7th Fresh Squeezed Ounce of Opera showcase.
Named to "Top 10 Shows List" by the Austin Chronicle
WOW! What an incredible honor to be included in Cat McCarrey's year-ending list of the top shows she saw all year. We especially appreciate her descriptive subtitle of "bold, empathetic, boundary-pushing creations." Mission (literally) accomplished!
Offered co-sponsored auditions with LOLA
For the 2nd year in a row, singers just had to apply once and sing once for two indie opera companies in Austin! Not only does this help us build community, it allows for LOLA (Local Opera Local Artists) and OOO to collaborate on yearly performance scheduling, talk about resource sharing, and check in on how we are meeting the needs of our artists and audiences.
Two Free Annual Concerts – Holiday Singalong + Songs of Love
The tradition continues! For 13 years – even during the pandemic – OOO hasn't missed the chance to share music and joy with audiences (and provide paid solo performance placements for local singers) in partnership with the long-running Thursday Noon Concert Series in the acoustically gorgeous Central Presbyterian Church Sanctuary. Also home to concerts during SXSW, this venue and its folks welcome us each year in February (the Valentine's Day-themed "Songs of Love") and December (a spirited, inclusive "Holiday Singalong" with Peter Bay and Guests) for short, FREE, lunchtime community events that delight and inspire. Here's a pic of the entire crew from this year's Holiday Singalong, attended by a record number of folks in 2025!
3rd Appearance at Here Be Monsters Indie-Classical Fest
This year, singers Veronica Williams and Amy Selby reprised the poignant song cycle "Songs of Remembrance and Resistance" by Kevin March at the annual community celebration featuring 20 total Austin groups, Here Be Monsters, at Radio/EAST. Joseph Choi on keys, Julie Fiore produced.
7th Fresh Squeezed Ounce of Opera
Our award-winning "crown jewel" welcomed audiences to a new home, dadaLab!
The 7th iteration of our internationally-known + juried micro-opera showcase welcomed audiences to a cool new home (east Austin’s creative warehouse venue dadaLab), where they experienced three contemporary short works presented in a single program. We’ve mentioned the results of the showcase above (and it feels gorgeous to get noticed), but the real value was in the growth and expansion for the artists on stage, off stage, and those who penned the works themselves. Professional videos (by videographer Jack Kloecker), pro performance photos (by photog Steve Rogers), engaged + sold-out houses, time spent with friends and colleagues creating art, and the celebrations that followed were pluses as well! Overall, another deeply satisfying run for our annual flagship project. Click each pic below to WATCH EACH MICRO OPERA, or on the showcase image to watch the entire 2025 program!
2025 by the numbers
how our work directly impacted our community of folks
76
singers, pianists, artisans, and creatives paid for their work this calendar year
1000+
in-person audience members who experienced our work this calendar year
If you’d like to celebrate the wins of 2025 and invest in the future of reimagining opera in unexpected spaces, we’d love to invite you to join the hundreds who support our work – and make Austin all the more livable and lovely.
This project has been funded in part by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department.
Searching for past performances, photos, or videos? Visit our Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram for archives of our work.
