Marcela Ossa is a Colombian-American operatic soprano, poet, music teacher, and visual artist born in Medellín, Colombia. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance under the direction ofJudith Haddon and Dr. Shannon McGinnis from the Music Conservatory at the Chicago College of Performing Arts. 

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Marcela lives in Chicago, IL and works at ChiME, Chicago Center for Music Education, a non-profit music school where she teaches early music education, classroom education, and private voice lessons. She is also focusing on furthering her career as an opera singer, poet, and visual artist.   

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Marcela made her Chicago Summer Opera debut singing the role of Metella in

Handel’s Silla as well as Euridice in scenes from Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice. In the summer of 2019, she sang with Opera in Concert in Italy in various cities around Italy where she performed lead roles in scenes from Verdi’s Falstaff and Rigoletto, among other ensemble pieces. Marcela has performed in CCPA’s undergraduate operas as Daphne from Barab’s The Ruined Maid and Parashka in Stravinksy’s Mavra. In 2018,she also worked with a local Chicago theater company, The Savoyaires, where she performed in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Ruddigore. During her years as a member of Roosevelt’s Conservatory Chorus, she appeared as a soloist in Honnege’s Le Roi David and Craig Hella Johnson’s Considering Matthew Shepard. She also performed as a chorus member with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Sinfonietta in their performances of the Mozart Requiem and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony.

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In April of 2021, she debuted her poet book Cilantro y Café, which depicts a piece of Marcela's journey as a Colombian-American female in her twenties and explores themes of heartbreak, depression, cultural identity, introspection, and social awareness. This debut poetry book documents the beauty and chaos of life by using quirky settings and chilling emotional imagery. Cilantro y Café  was published by small press Allbook Books and can be purchased on Marcela’s website or her publisher’s website for $15. 

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Marcela also sells her artwork and makes made-to-order yarn tapestries on her etsy website, which you can also find on her website. 

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She has an immense passion for the expression of human emotion through art and for her country, Colombia, and is so honored and grateful to be representing her family and the Latinx community in the United States. Marcela is also passionate about being an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and minority communities as well as being an activist raising awareness about the climate crisis and women's rights. 

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When Marcela is not performing, teaching, writing, or creating she likes to spend time in nature, ride her bike, do yoga, rock climb, take long naps, and spend time with her loved ones. 

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