DATES for the coming season

Transcription

1 Summer Issue 4 DATES for the coming season Summer Social Times: TBA August 9th: Soiree with You as the entertainment 7:30 pm; Place TBA Musical Theatre Festival and Fall Meeting, Nov. 2, 3: Lewis and Clark College FRIDAY, NOV. 2 - Special Program for all participants and teachers SATURDAY, NOV. 3-8 am - 12 noon auditions 12-1 pm - NATS lunch and meeting 5 pm - Teachers Reception 6:30 pm Winners Concert Special Program/Vocal Recital Wednesday, November 7th - Stephanie Blythe, sponsored by Friends of Chamber Music Possibility for a no-host dinner before and a block of tickets Saturday, January 5th - Winter Meeting, 12 Noon Downtown Portland, Place TBA Our program will be during the National Opera Association Conference to be held at the Hilton Hotel. We will have the option of participating in the days sessions. continued next page... President s Notes: It is such a privilege to be singing teachers! When I think about all the joy, beauty, and laughter we get to be part of, I am very grateful-- Grateful for each of you fellow teachers and grateful that my career involves what I love to do most--teach, sing, listen, and encourage. Thanks for being involved in this through our NATS chapter. As you know, it is my goal to have times for us to interact in small groups in ways that we might get to know each other better and be able to share teaching techniques, repertoire and discuss ideas about singing with one another. To that end, the board is making some BIG changes, which many of you have advocated for a long time. Last summer we made significant changes in our website and hired a webmaster, Bekki Levien. Because of that we can now do all registration for festivals and make all payments for festivals and dues through our website! That is great! This year you will also be able to pay chapter dues when you pay your national dues on line through the national website! However, for some members, the technology is still a mystery. At the board meeting in May board members decide we need to hear from you, so Jamie Jacobson, our secretary will be sending an old-fashioned letter, with a stamp and everything to find out what your preference is for communication. The letter will be coming soon. Please respond so that we don t leave anyone out! A board member will be assigned for each of you who will call to remind you about meetings and events. In other words, more technology and more person to person. There will again be summer social times! You will be contacted by one of the board members and invited to participate in a time of social gathering with a bit of sharing what you are doing as a teacher. Food, of course, will be part of that! When the dates are set, we will post them so that you can pick a time/place that works for you. Teachers of Singing Can Sing! The last social event of the summer will be a Liederabend on Thursday, August 9th, place to be announced, for a soiree at which we will sing for each other and have a sing-along on a few famous art songs. Refreshments? Always! Save this date and start practicing! Included in this issue are all the dates that are already set for the upcoming program year. I hope to see all of you at many of these events! (Remember the Paul Sperry workshop sponsored by PSU on American Art Song in July!) My best for a renewing summer full of music. Susan McBerry

2 Summer 2012 NATS Cascade Chapter Newsletter page 2 DATES for the coming season Classical Festival and Spring Meeting: April 12 and 13, 2013 Oregon State University, Beverly Park, Chair Meeting 12 noon; Teachers Reception 5 pm Reminder: This will be the last Classical Festival in the spring. *** New Opera Company Brava! Opera Theater and James M. Collier Young Artist Program There is a new opera company located in southern Oregon (Medford/Ashland area). Artistic Director is Willene Gunn, formerly Director of the Opera Program at The San Francisco Conservatory of Music for 30 years. General Director is Lorrie Hall, formerly of Rogue Opera. Staff pianist and vocal coach is Laurie Anne Hunter, formerly of New York City Opera. We Remember Bill Wilcox Our thoughts are with the family of Bill Wilcox, long time member of NATS who died suddenly on Friday, June 1. He had been on vacation with family and close friends. Bill was a fine musician, teacher and colleague. He was a kind and caring man who fostered collegiality and shared his wisdom and humor with all of us. He will be greatly missed in our community. His memorial service will be held at the Sunnyside Little Chapel of the Chimes (11667 SE Stevens Rd in Clackamas) on Tuesday, June 12 at 2pm. We Remember Exine Bailey *** Exine Margaret Anderson Bailey of Eugene died May 3 of complications of multiple sclerosis. She was very active in NATS and long-time head of the voice dept. at U of O, and well-known throughout the state. She was 90. Exine was born Jan. 4, 1922, in Cottonwood, Minn., to Joseph and Exine Robertson Anderson. She married Arthur Bailey on May 5, 1956, in Eugene. He died Dec. 25, She earned a master s of music degree from Columbia University. She worked as a professional singer in New York for six years and taught at Columbia. She came to the University of Oregon in 1951 and retired after 36 years as a full professor of music. Competition *** 2013 Mondavi Center Young Artists Competition, UC Davis $6000 prize to vocalists ages 17-21, as well as additional special prizes and prestigious performance opportunities. Auditions will take place from August 2012 (preliminary recorded audition submission) to March 2013 (live Final rounds) Regional auditions will be held: September 29: Sherman Clay, Portland OR October 13: Steinway Hall, New York October 28: Mondavi Center, UC Davis November 15: The Colburn School, Los Angeles Application deadline is August 31. Complete information and application materials are available online at

3 Summer 2012 NATS Cascade Chapter Newsletter page 3 Upcoming Concerts Portland Ensign Choir & Orchestra Concert: Once Upon a Dream with Grammy Nominated Guest Artist Jenny Oaks Baker June 15, 8:00 pm Willamette University (Smith Auditorium) June 16, 2 pm & 8 pm Skyview High School in Vancouver Classes Introduction to Musical Theatre Vocal Performance June 18-August 2, Tues/Thurs 4-5 p.m. Keizer Academy of Music and Arts (KAMA) in Keizer, Oregon For: Specifically designed for students ages Taught by Amy Cheifetz Contact KAMA at Start on a path to singing all styles of Musical Theatre healthily and expressively. Learn to combine healthy singing with dynamic performance techniques making you an interesting, vibrant stage presence. Create a memorable performance by applying your unique vocal skills and qualities to a song with an emphasis on musicality, diction, and character development. Class will culminate in an informal recital. Who is invited: Everyone family friendly. Tickets can be purchased online or through David Thomas , musicdirector@ portlandensign.org *** Musical Theatre Singing and Performing Essentials Classes start June 25, exact days and times TBA Classic Tap Dance Studios, Keizer, Oregon For: High School and College age singers Taught by Amy Cheifetz Do you love to sing? Do you love to perform? Do you love Musical Theatre? If yes, this is the class for you! Discover the passionate you, the comic you, the dramatic you. Develop your unique voice and understand how to apply it to all styles of Musical Theatre. Acquire dynamic performing techniques that will make you stand out from the crowd and wow your audience. Create fun, successful auditions and performances. Sing and act at the same time. Perform with confidence. Cultivate your musicality, refine your diction, explore character development. Classes taught by Amy Cheifetz, performer and voice teacher, formerly on the voice faculty at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City.

4 Summer 2012 NATS Cascade Chapter Newsletter page 4 Workshop Paul Sperry Summer Workshop July 16 July 20, 2012 Portland State University Workshop Schedule The week will start off with a reception to meet and greet Paul Sperry and colleagues. Each day will begin with a morning lecture on the topic for the day, followed by a lunch break and afternoon Master Class. An evening concert on July 20th given by Master Class participants and Paul Sperry will conclude the week. Costs Early Registration Special, must be registered by June 1 Auditors - $150 for the week, Participants - $175 for the week, singing in a least 2 Master Classes and final concert Registration after June 1 Auditors - $50 per day or $175 for the week Participants - $200 for the week, singing in a least 2 Master Classes and final concert Registration for 1 credit at PSU: $ (includes credit and fees) contact sperryworkshop@gmail.com for an application and more information PAUL SPERRY is recognized as one of today s outstanding interpreters of American music. Although he is equally at home in a repertoire that extends from Monteverdi opera and the Bach Passions to Britten s Nocturne and hundreds of songs in more than a dozen languages, he brings to American music a conviction and an enthusiasm that has brought it to life for countless listeners. Many of today s leading composers have written works specially for him; Sperry has world premieres of works by more than thirty Americans to his credit. He premiered Leonard Bernstein s Dybbuk Suite with the composer conducting the New York Philharmonic, Jacob Druckman s Animus IV for the opening of the Centre Georges Pompidou at Beaubourg in Paris in 1977, and Bernard Rands Pulitzer Prize winning Canti del Sole with the New York Philharmonic in l983 under Zubin Mehta. Other composers whose works he has premiered include Robert Beaser, William Bolcom, Victoria Bond, Daniel Brewbaker, Tom Cipullo, Nathan Currier, Daron Hagen, Richard Hundley, William Kraft, Libby Larsen, Harold Meltzer, John Musto, Stephen Paulus, Russell Platt, Robert Rodriguez, Larry Alan Smith, Louise Talma, Francis Thorne, Nicholas Thorne, Dan Welcher, Richard Wilson and Charles Wuorinen and Judith Lang Zaimont. Because he is a passionate advocate for American music, Sperry has tried to insure that many of the wonderful works he has unearthed will be easily available to others. To that end, he has compiled and edited several volumes of American songs, both anthologies and single composer collections for G. Schirmer, Peer-Southern, Boosey & Hawkes, Carl Fischer and Dover Publications. His collection American Encores was released by Oxford University Press in October, In 1989 he became the first non-composer to be elected president of the American Music Center, a national organization which provides information all over the world about American composers and their music. He held that position for three years and served severn years as Chairman of the Board of the American Composers Orchestra, the only orchestra in the world devoted to the performance of American Music. Paul Sperry s recordings of American music include five CDs of American song available on Albany Records, the most recent is of new song cycles by Tom Cipullo, Daron Hagen, Libby Larsen and Pulitzer Prize winner, Paul Moravec, as well as numerous songs and chamber works available on DG, CRI, Crystal, Musical Heritage, Summit and Nonesuch Records, and he is one of four singers to have recorded the complete songs of Charles Ives for Albany Records. Other recordings include four releases on Zephyr records with pianist Ian Hobson: Les chemins de l amour, songs of Poulenc, Great Composers Love Folksongs Too, Schubert s Winterreise, and a two-cd box, Byways of French Song. He taught classes in song interpretation and performance at the Juilliard School from , where he created what may have been the country s first full-year course in American song. He also teaches courses in American song at the Manhattan School of Music in New York and in 19th and 20th century song at the Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music. Since 1987 he has been the Director of Joy In Singing, an organization dedicated to helping young singers and American composers. In the summer of 2006 he delivered the keynote address at the annual convention of the National Association of Teachers of Singing his subject was the delights of singing new American music.

5 Summer 2012 NATS Cascade Chapter Newsletter page 5 New Member Profile Anton Belov What are you listening to these days? Because I am always either teaching or performing, the music is constantly with me. Ironically, when I drive or perform manual labor, I prefer to listen to talk. The iphone opens the door to an incredible wealth of information! I am almost always tuned to the itunes U a subsection of itunes that hosts lecture/podcasts from hundreds of universities. My favorite subject is European history. Sometimes I end up listening lecture by lecture to an entire college course. My favorite course so far was Margaret Andersen s History 5 from the UC Berkeley. What are your favorite websites, mobile tools? Rhapsody I love having all my music at my fingertips at all times YouTube How did we live without it? god bless Emily Ezust for assembling such an incredible collection of song-texts and translations! Amazing! this is a subscription site that allows for transposition of hundreds of songs. A subscription is a must for any voice teacher who teaches low voices. Favorite singers? My taste is quite old-fashioned I love the old crackly sound recordings. They are like magic to me. I especially love the old Italian tenors Gigli, Tagliavini and DiStefano. Of course I adore the true Italian dramatic tenors Del Monaco, Corelli and Giacomini (this one should really be better known!) For my own fach, I love Robert Merrill (whom I got to meet just once), Cappuccilli and of course Bastianini (the voice of god!). Yet my favorite recording of all times is Patria Mia (Aida) by Leontyne Price. New Member Profile Do you have any repertoire expertise or good suggestions for members to explore? Sure, besides my standard operatic repertoire a cavalier baritone (Germont, Di Luna, Enrico, Count, Don Giovanni, Marcello, and so on) my major interests are in German Lieder, unknown Italian Art Song and of course, my native Russian repertoire. I am the author of several books on the subject of Russian lyric diction and repertoire and I ve edited several volumes of Russian Operatic Anthology. My publications include the Russian volume of libretti in the same series as Nico Castel s. I am also the proprietor of www. russianartsong. com. Visit it for multimedia diction guides, IPA transcriptions of hundreds of songs and common domain MP3 downloads. Where/what do you teach? I am the assistant professor of voice at Linfield College. I also teach privately in Sherwood and McMinnville. What are your professional affiliations? I am a member of AGMA and I am represented by the Dispeker Artists in NYC. In I am performing with the Oregon Symphony, Portland Opera, Tacoma Opera, Newport Symphony, Jupiter Symphony (NYC), Huntsville Symphony and other venues. I am also a co-director of the Atlantic Music Festival s Opera program What is your experience with NATS? (volunteering, conferences, etc.) I am relatively new to NATS. In I had an opportunity to perform at a NATS conference in Portland and to judge at WOU.

6 Summer 2012 NATS Cascade Chapter Newsletter page 6 Conference Announcements 8th International Congress of Voice Teachers (ICVT 2013) Brisbane, Queensland, Australia July 10-14, 2013 The ICVT 2013 Congress gathers voice teachers in all styles from all over the world for a quadrennial meeting, held in Australia for the first time. The program includes renowned international teachers and singers delivering performances, lectures, hands-on workshops, masterclasses, panel sessions, research presentations and social events, with preand post-event travel suggestions for delegates to enjoy. Congress themes will include all aspects of learning and teaching singing, fine singing performance and access to recent research. ICVT 2013 will allow delegates to meet and discuss ideas, broaden their own knowledge and form connections with other professionals in this industry. It is anticipated that approximately 300 delegates will attend the congress. For further information visit Conference Announcements The National Opera Association National Convention Portland, Oregon January 3-6, 2013, Hilton Hotel The National Opera Association is a service organization promoting opera and opera education. Membership includes singers, university and private voice teachers, stage directors, music directors, conductors, coach/accompanists, set and costume designers, and opera scholars. Many NATS members are also NOA members. The National Opera Association offers opportunities for everyone in the world of opera to work together for the advancement of quality in performance and pedagogy. Activities of NOA include a national Vocal Competition, Chamber Opera Composition Competition, Opera Production Video Competition, Opera Scenes Competition, Scholarly Papers Competition, Opera for Youth, and the Sacred in Opera Initiative. The convention theme is Inspiring Creative Partnerships: We re Stronger Together, and will feature performances, panels, workshops, competitions, and other continuingeducation opportunities for opera educators, professionals, and students. They keynote speaker for the opening luncheon on Thursday, January 3, will be Christopher Mattaliano, General Director of Portland Opera, who will also do a master class on audition arias on Friday, January 4. Other sessions will feature composer Kirke Mechem, tenor John Duykers, David Ostwald, Arlene Shrut, Ken Benson, and many other distinguished presenters. Opera workshops from NW university opera programs will be featured in scenes and young singers from this area will participate in the master classes. There will be sessions of interest to professional and student singers, voice teachers, pianists, stage directors, designers, and scholars. Newsletter Volunteer Needed We re currently looking for a volunteer to publish our newsletter. If you are interested, Anne Reed at annenatscascade@gmail.com Registration is available on a daily basis or a full convention registration rate. Please visit the NOA website for additional information on becoming an NOA member or attending the convention. Every other year, the convention is held in conjunction with the national NATS organization. If you have specific questions about NOA, please contact our Cascade Chapter Vice-President Ruth Dobson at dobsonr@ pdx.edu, who is on the Board of Directors of NOA and will serve as local host for the convention. Richard Poppino from OSU, our new NATS Oregon district Governor-elect, is also an NOA member and will serve as the assistant host for the convention.

7 Summer 2012 NATS Cascade Chapter Newsletter page 7 Important Festival Information NATS Cascade Fall 2012 Musical Theatre Festival Friday, November 2, 2012 Pre-Festival Workshop Saturday, November 3, 2012 Festival and Honors Recital Lewis and Clark Registration Deadline Friday, October 12, 2012 Requirements: Each singer must sing three, memorized songs. Each singer has 10 total minutes, including introduction, set up, singing, etc. All music must be performed from memory. Please be prepared to write the composer dates on all forms, and include the year of composition. Repertoire representing each of the following eras: 1) A selection composed in 1940 or before, which may include operetta. 2) A selection composed between ) A selection composed from 1981-present. At least two of the three must be from staged works. It is acceptable to use three songs from staged works. The minimum is two. That means that the third song may be chosen from: operetta, movie musical, or cabaret. NATS Cascade Classical Festival Friday, April 12, 2013 Adult Categories Saturday, April 13, 2013 Young Adult Categories and Honors Recital Oregon State University Registration Deadline Friday, March 15, 2013 To be in line with the way most other auditions operate, we recommend that singers perform the first selection of their choosing, and then sing others as requested by the judges within their audition time slot (10, 12, or 15 minutes). Students must list the timed duration of each song on the adjudication form. It is our desire to hear as much singing as possible. Requirements: YA: Age Prepare three songs. Singer chooses the first; judges select second or third as time permits. Each singer gets a 10 minute audition. Students are encouraged to use two or more languages. One selection must be in English. continued next page...

8 Summer 2012 NATS Cascade Chapter Newsletter page 8 1. A selection written before A 19th century art song 3. A 20th century art song (Folk song arrangements are acceptable.) YA: Age Prepare four songs. Singer chooses the first; judges select others as time permits. Each singer gets a 12 minute audition. Students are encouraged to use two or more languages. One selection must be in English. 1. A selection written before An aria from an oratorio or opera, or a 19th century song (original language) 3. A 19th or 20th century art song 4. A 20th century art song Advanced: Prepare five songs. Singer chooses the first; judges select others as time permits. Each singer gets a 15 minute audition. Students must use three or more languages. All selections must be sung in the original language. 1. A selection written before An aria from an oratorio or opera 3. A 19th century art song 4. An art song in English 5. An art song composed in or after 1950 (not an arrangement of a folk song) Recreational: Prepare three songs. Singer chooses the first; judges select others as time permits. Each singer gets a 10 minute audition. Students are encouraged to use two or more languages. One selection must be in English. 1. A selection written before A 19th century art song 3. A 20th century art song Teachers- please keep in mind you must volunteer in order for your student to participate. If you know you cannot be available at the Festival, please contact Festival Chair, Beverly Park, by the registration deadline to be assigned a pre-festival duty. Thank you.