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The Scarlet & Black

Malinowski stops home for family and a recital

New York Metro Opera Singer Nicholas Malinowski '04 chats with Carlos Lu '10 at the Spencer Grill on Tuesday night. Malinowski, a former Grinnell Singer and basketball player, will be performing a repertoire of German, French, and Italian music in Sebring-Lewis Hall at 4:30 this Sunday afternoon. - Aaron Barker
New York Metro Opera Singer Nicholas Malinowski '04 chats with Carlos Lu '10 at the Spencer Grill on Tuesday night. Malinowski, a former Grinnell Singer and basketball player, will be performing a repertoire of German, French, and Italian music in Sebring-Lewis Hall at 4:30 this Sunday afternoon. - Aaron Barker
Nick Malinowski ’04, currently pursuing his master’s degree at the Mannes College of Music in New York, returns to campus this weekend for a 4:30 recital on Sunday. Malinowski will be singing a program of 24 songs featuring mostly French and Italian pieces. The performance marks the first time Nick will sing at Grinnell as a Tenor and not as a bass baritone. For the less artsy, Nick is also known for his prowess on the basketball court, averaging 11 points per game during his final season for the Pioneers in 2004. No word on whether head coach David Arseneault was ever serenaded.

So as a Grinnell alum and as someone who grew up here, how does it feel to come back?

It feels great because my parents live here and I only see them about once or twice a year. [And] even though I graduated five years ago, there are still people I know through basketball or music or people that I just happened to have met, so it still kind of feels like home.

Sebring-Lewis is [also] a fantastic place to sing, it has great acoustics and sound. It’s also a really warm crowd. You know they’ll appreciate your singing even if you aren’t singing well.

You were involved in Con Brio while you were here … What was your favorite song?

I loved singing “Africa” by Toto, it’s the perfect a cappella song. I also enjoyed “Gangsta’s Paradise” [by Coolio].

What do you miss more, performing at Grinnell or playing Grinnell Basketball?

(Laughs) I didn’t get to come home for the Midwest Conference Tournament, so I watched it online and talked with my old friends about it, and that made me miss it a lot. I am still performing, so I still get that, and I play basketball every once in a while, but it’s nothing like playing here. I’m five years out, but give me a month or two and I think I can keep up. I miss [Grinnell basketball] a lot, especially since my dad [Emil Malinowski] was the assistant coach.

But instead of music after graduation, you opted for Teach for America.

I thought that I might want to teach for a career, but since I only took one education class, I thought Teach for America would be a good way to circumnavigate the whole teacher-training process.

Also, my senior year, I had a lot of throat trouble. I actually had my tonsils removed and sang my senior recital on steroids, which was really nice. It was like performance enhancing drugs for musicians. But it meant I couldn’t go directly into graduate school for voice because I would not have been ready for the auditions.

So [Teach for America] let me teach and do something of service, which I thought was important. And it also gave me time to let my throat heal before I eventually knew that I wanted to go back to school for singing.

So you’re currently back at school and pursuing a master’s degree at the Mannes College of Music in New York City. What’s it like living in New York and what’s your favorite part about it?
malinweb

My favorite part about New York City is the opera. The opera scene there is probably the best in the world. I can get orchestra tickets, same-day, for a performance at the Metropolitan Opera House for $20. You just have to stand in line for an hour or two. I see the best singers, and it’s an irreplaceable part of my education as a singer because I get to see so much from learning from people’s mistakes.

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