Alyce Daubenspeck, (class of ’14) is a proud Ithaca alumna. As an Environmental Studies major, and Music minor, she was able to engage both of her two greatest passions - performing onstage, and the natural world. After graduation, Alyce remained in Ithaca until 2016, where she enjoyed hiking the gorges, working at the local Co-Op Greenstar, managing the IC Organic garden, and participating in both the Actor’s Workshop of Ithaca, and as an apprentice artist with Opera Ithaca. Although she had earned her B.A. in Environmental Studies, her life path started to wind in a more musical direction, especially under the vocal tutelage of IC's very owh voice professor, Marc Webster.
From 2016-2018, she attended Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ, where she earned her Master of Music in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy. She graduated with distinction in 2018, despite having to work overtime to make up for missed prerequisite coursework. In 2019, she won first place in several acclaimed vocal competitions, including the American Prize, and the Metropolitan Opera Council Auditions in South Carolina.
Her singing over the next few years would take her to Arkansas, Chicago, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and even for a month in Italy. She began to teach voice and piano, which turned into her first position as an adjunct faculty at DeSales University in Pennsylvania. She held this position for five years, teaching singing lessons to undergraduates in the musical theater programs. She also entertained a busy schedule of singing in churches, and teaching privately. Her Carnegie hall debut was in 2024, and she also earned her first management for her artistry.
Later in 2024, Alyce decided it was time to pursue her dream of living in Europe, and creating a more stable career, where she could focus only on performance. In August 2024, Alyce took a leap, flew to Germany and gave herself the legal 90 days to find a job. On day 87, Alyce secured a maternity leave replacement position in the opera choir of Theater Ulm. This contract got extended for a year, at which point the Theater invited her to stay and sing her first ever solo roles in Germany in April 2026.
Now, in November 2026, Alyce has moved back to Ulm, where she will sing two more solo roles in Theater Ulm, with her contract running until the end of July 2027. She has found a community there of hikers, music-lovers, and garden enthusiasts, so she feels at home. She spends her time there performing, auditioning for agents, and planning the next seasons of her life. Her husband (Nikolay), and Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (Leo) wait eagerly for her return to the US in August 2027, where she plans to relocate on a more permanent basis.
Although her path has certainly not been linear, and not incredible relevant (so far) to her degree, she is open to what life brings her next - whether it be in character shoes, or hiking boots.