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Walled Lake Consolidated Schools

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Constantine Novotny (Northern '09)

Constantine Novotny headshot

Constantine Novotny is a 2009 graduate of Walled Lake Northern HS. While at Northern, he was heavily involved in the choir and theater programs. After high school, he received a Bachelor’s of Music in Vocal Performance from Oakland University, graduating in 2013. He went on to earn a Master’s of Music in Opera Performance from Wichita State University in 2015 and a Master’s in Sacred Music from the University of Notre Dame in 2019.

A large amount of his opera singing was done during his studies at the universities, but he has had the pleasure of singing the Count in Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro with the FAVA summer program in Salzburg, Austria, the title role in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with the Detroit-based Opera MODO, and in the chorus at the Detroit Opera House. He was hired by the baroque orchestras American Bach Soloists and Apollo’s Fire, and sang in the choir of Apollo’s Fire with the New York Philharmonic in a performance of Handel’s Messiah in New York City. While living in New York, he was a staff singer at the Church of St. Luke in the Fields and would substitute often at St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, a beautiful cathedral known for its excellent music. Being a freelance musician means he usually gets a small handful of interesting gigs per year that take him around the USA.

With his band, The Sundots, he has performed in some legendary venues in New York such as The Bitter End and The Cutting Room (and he believes at both venues he played the same piano that Lady Gaga and Norah Jones played before they made it big.) They have released three albums since they formed in 2017, and have collected valuable life experiences along the way.

Constantine Novotny singing while playing the piano

Constantine is currently a member of the voice faculty at his alma mater, Oakland University, where he teaches courses and voice lessons to undergraduate music, theater, and non-major students.

In his free time, he writes songs for The Sundots since it is his main creative outlet aside from classical singing. Otherwise, he will be playing Mozart or Bach on the piano, lazing with his Nintento, or having a burger with a friend.

“I owe so much to the strength of the performing arts department during my time at Walled Lake Northern” said Constantine. “For my freshman through junior years, choir director William Boggs provided me with some of the best musical training a high school student could ask for. The strong musical foundation I was able to build during those formative years helped immensely by the time I arrived at college.”

“The music theory course offered and taught by Mary Hulliberger was also invaluable, and having Mike Peterson lead the choirs after Mr. Boggs’ retirement was terrific. Not to mention the state-of-the-art theater Walled Lake Northern had. What a gift!” 

“On top of all this, I made some of the longest-lasting close friendships during my high school music days,” added Constantine.

His advice for current students is to take advantage of what the school has to offer and enjoy the quality relationships you will make in the process.