Alaska-born soprano Margaret Kohler, who earned her college tuition by fishing commercially for crab and halibut, was the first prize winner in the 2002 International Opera Singers Competition in New York. She earned her Master of Music degree at the Eastman School of Music and her B.M. and B.A. at Oberlin Conservatory and College. In 2004 she made her New York recital debut, and she debuted in Germany as soprano soloist with Bachchor Mannheim, premiering Samuel Adler’s Jona.