How many UNLV students — or college students — or anyone for that matter — can say that they sang in a Super Bowl commercial? 

Christian Shelton hit that high note in 2021 with his rendition of the ballad "Rise Up" for an Indeed.com commercial. At Commencement, he'll graduate with his Bachelor of Music degree and a long list of performance credits.

But Shelton remembers hesitation in his first steps on campus. His choir teacher at the Las Vegas Academy of the Arts encouraged vocal lessons with School of Music professor Alfonse Anderson. After the first few sessions, Shelton realized how much he could learn from Anderson’s coaching and experience. These lessons inspired him to pursue classical music and opera. 

“I was grateful that I didn’t leave; this was the best choice I could have made,” he says of his decision to stay in Las Vegas and attend UNLV. “I would never have thought in my freshman year that I would ever be the lead in any opera, so it’s crazy to look back at my time and see that four years later I am starring in an opera. That is really special.” 

Shelton credits the mentorship of the faculty in the College of Fine Arts. Their performance expertise and advice, he says, turn UNLV’s rising artists and musicians into professionals. Since 2011, UNLV Opera has won six national awards, most recently second place in the 2024 National Opera Association Collegiate Opera Scenes Competition, and its graduates have gone on to perform with the Metropolitan Opera, Opéra National de Paris, and more across the world.

“I feel anything is possible artistically because we have the most amazing faculty in Fine Arts. They have real-world performance experience, which is something that young artists need to succeed.” 

He has performed with UNLV Choirs throughout Europe. Next he is off to Graz, Austria, to perform with the American Institute of Musical Studies. He will study opera with renowned professionals and perform excerpts alongside an orchestra. 

After that, it’s back to UNLV to start his master’s degree this fall — meaning you might still be able to catch him performing at events in the future (including the Saturday morning commencement ceremony.) 

Shelton has his own advice to share for the next generation of musicians. “Stay true to yourself. Do what you love to do. You have to always make sure that you are showing your best self in rehearsals, when meeting people, during introductions — because that is what makes people want to work with you. First impressions are important. You have to show your work ethic and that you can be prepared, and it makes that first impression last.”