New Mexico Performing Arts Society (NMPAS) In collaboration with the NMHU Music Department. Present A Voice Masterclass and Mini-Recital

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1 New Mexico Performing Arts Society (NMPAS) In collaboration with the NMHU Music Department Present A Voice Masterclass and Mini-Recital Wednesday, February 13, 2019 from 6-8:30 pm The Plaza Hotel Ballroom, Las Vegas, NM Masterclass Voice Specialists Cynthia Lawrence, Endowed Chair, Voice & Opera, University of Kentucky Mark Calkins, Associate Professor of Music/Voice, Berea College Mark and Cindy Calkins With Andre Garcia-Nuthmann, Music Department Chair and pianist Franz Vote, NMPAS Artistic Director and pianist Performers include students in the NMHU voice and musical theater departments. This event is free and open to the public. No reservations required.

2 CYNTHIA LAWRENCE Soprano, Cynthia Lawrence has sung on five continents and is hailed as one of America s most exciting singing actresses. She has performed as a regular guest of leading opera companies around the world: Metropolitan Opera; the Guangzhou Opera House; Royal Albert Hall, London; the Lyric Opera of Chicago; Deutsche Staatsoper, Berlin; New Israeli Opera; Opera Pacific; Opera Colorado; Deutsche Staatsoper; Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Paris Opera, Prague s National Theater; Grand Theatre de Geneva; Vlaamse Opera, Belgium; Castleward Opera, Belfast, Ireland; Opera Columbus; Dayton Opera; Minnesota Opera; Opera Ontario; Athens Festival, Theater Megaron; New York City Opera; Lake George Opera Festival; Opera Omaha; Central City Opera; Colorado Opera Festival; and Opera Memphis. Cynthia received a KET Ohio Valley Regional Emmy as a member of Grand Night for Singing 25th Anniversary Broadcast in overall production in the Arts/Entertainment category, and for audio mixer Brent Abshear, for postproduction audio. Recently Cynthia directed Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the University of Kentucky to rave reviews. She sang on a CONCERT CARACALLA FOR UNICEF as a guest artist at The Baths of Caracalla, Rome for a charity evening in aid of UNICEF along with: José Carreras, Andrea Bocelli, Carly Paoli, Russell Watson, Andrea Griminelli & Alessandro Safina, accompanied by Roma United Orchestra, directed by David Giménez. She was also featured soloist on a KET television broadcast of the 100-year Gala celebration of the Kentucky Governor s Mansion. Miss Lawrence appeared as Mimi in La Boheme with the National Symphony of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic as part of their 40 th Anniversary celebration. The previous fall she sang one of her favorite roles of Madame Butterfly in Anthony Minghella s production, to a sold out crowd at the Guangzhou Opera House in China. In previous years, Ms. Lawrence appeared as Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana with the National Symphony of Santo Domingo as well as singing Tosca at Opera North Carolina and Milwaukee s Florentine Opera. She has appeared yearly in the Alltech Celebration of Song, and was a featured soloist in the FEI World Equestrian Games which was held in Lexington, Kentucky and broadcast worldwide. Her Lady Macbeth at Palacio Das Artes, in Belo Horizonte, Brazil and was a smash sell-out and she was a featured performer in the 75th Anniversary Gala of Florentine Opera in Milwaukee. In the fall of 2008 she was honored to be a selected soloist and speaker for the concert and DVD A Tribute to Pavarotti: One Amazing Weekend in Petra. The previous year Cynthia sang the Gala Concert with Opera Fort Collins and was also in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where she sang four concerts at the Journey Through Time festival and exhibition and starred in a gala concert in Lima, Peru. In past seasons, she sang Madame Butterfly with the Lithuanian Nation Opera in Spain and Opera Carolina, Maddelena with Ben Heppner as Andrea Chenier with CulturArte de Puerto Rico, Lady Macbeth, with the Metropolitan Opera and the Florentine Opera. She has sung Tosca with The Royal Albert Hall, London as well as with The Vancouver Opera. In previous seasons at the Metropolitan Opera she sang as Madame Butterfly, Musetta, Tosca, and Roxanne in Cyrano and Dolly in Sly opposite Placido Domingo. She also sang Elettra in Idomeneo at The Washington Opera, Cio-Cio-San for Connecticut Opera and Tosca for the Opera Theatre of St. Louis. She also appeared at the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Candace in A Wedding, and Opera Carolina, Atlanta Opera and Portland Opera as Tosca. She has appeared over 70 times in concert with Luciano Pavarotti; touring cities and countries such as Doha, Qatar; Italy; Chile; Venezuela, Argentina; Germany; Norway; Japan; China; Malaysia; England; Canada; South Africa, and throughout the United States.

3 Her roles include her praised Tosca; Amelia in Un Ballo in Maschera; Roxanne in Cyrano de Bergerac; Dolly in Sly; her celebrated Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly; Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus; Lavinia, in Mourning Becomes Electra; Elettra in Idomeneo; Vitellia in La Clemenza di Tito; Mimi and Musetta in La Boheme,; Micaela and Carmen in Carmen; The First Lady and Pamina, in Die Zauberflöte; Fiordiligi in Cosí fan Tutte; Lady Macbeth in Verdi s Macbeth; Die Frau in Schoenberg s Von Heute auf Morgen; Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro; Liú in Turandot; Marguerite in Faust; Countess Olga in Fedora; The Italian Singer in Strauss s Capriccio. Miss Lawrence also appeared in a Gala Celebration of the opening of the Charles and Reta Ralph Opera Center in Colorado and a gala with Opera Fort Collins - Tea with the Diva. Miss Lawrence received two honors this year for her teaching: Kentucky Teachers who Make a Difference and the National Society of Arts and Letters Arts Teacher of the Year. Her students are singing with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera, Vienna Staatsoper, Munich Opera, Netherderlands Opera and Opera Lady Macbeth, Metropolitan Opera Norway as well as many companies throughout the US. She resides with her two daughters and husband, Mark R. Calkins who is the Director of Music and Associate Professor at Berea College, in Berea, Kentucky. She maintains a private studio and is a frequent judge for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and enjoys conducting Master Classes for singers, performers and colleges. Mark and Cynthia give frequent Master Classes and Recitals. Some have been at: Silver Lake College, Wisconsin; The University of Hidalgo State, Mexico; Georgia Regents College and at the 4th International Conference on the Acoustics of Singing held at the University of Texas, San Antonio. Clc

4 Mark Calkins, President - Kentucky National Association of Teachers of Singing Associate Professor of Music Voice mark_calkins@berea.edu Biography Mark Calkins, tenor has appeared in leading roles with opera companies throughout North America and Europe. Performing Count Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Lindoro in L Italiana in Algeri, The Prince in La Cenerentola, The Count in Le Comte Ory and Oreste in Ermione to critical acclaim in Opera houses such as: Opera De Nantes, France; Dublin Grand Opera, Ireland; Cologne Opera, Germany; The Lyric Opera of Chicago, Birmingham Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, Castleward Opera, Northern Ireland; Kentucky Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Toledo Opera, Minnesota Opera, Opera Omaha, Mobile Opera, Central City Opera and Dayton Opera. In 2009 he was awarded the Thursday Musical "Teacher of the Year". He recently performed in a nationally broadcast Dominican Republic production of La Boheme by Puccini in Santo Domingo under the auspices of the National Theater and National Symphony Orchestra of the Dominican Republic, conducted by Mo. Jose Antonio Molia. Mark joined the faculty at Berea College, Kentucky, U.S.A. in the fall of 2009 where he served as Director of Music from A former member of the Lyric Opera of Chicago s young artist development program, the Lyric Opera Center for American Artists: Mark was featured as Cassio in Otello on an A&E nationwide production of Spotlight Colorado; starred in a National Public Broadcasting System Television production and World Premiere of Robert Greenleafs Under the Arbor, available on DVD; and as the conductor of the Berea College Women s Chorus recently on the CBS National Broadcast Listen aired on Christmas Eve of International Concert engagements include appearances in Europe s Music festivals in Salzburg, Bregenz, Villach, Austria; Merano, Italy and Bremen, Germany with Roger Norrington conducting the London Classical Players in Rossini s Stabat Mater. He has appeared throughout the U.S. in Broadway touring productions of Phantom of the Opera. Recent student s achievements include: Chicago Lyric Opera, Ryan Opera Center members; a Metropolitan Opera supporting artist; ISing Beijing participant, Holly Flack, coloratura soprano; District and Regional Metropolitan Opera National Council Audition winners; many statewide Kentucky and Minnesota NATS competition winners; 2009 Thursday Musical competition and 2009 Music Teachers National Association winners. His collegiate students perform leading roles in the college productions, soloists and section leaders in the college choirs. Mark s students have been awarded Graduate Assistantships in prominent programs such as American Vocal Academy, C.S.U, Fort Collins, I.U. Bloomington, U.K. Lexington, S.I.U. Carbondale and Denver University. Mark maintains a private studio of young professional singers has taught master classes in performance regionally, nationally and internationally at: American Opera Initiative, Augusta, Georgia; Head Professor of Vocal Technique and Vocal Pedagogy for the V Opera Studio do

5 Recife, Brazil sponsored by the U. S. General Consulate to Brazil; Head Professor of Vocal Techniques: 1st National Operatic Singing Seminar 2015, (1er Seminario Nacional de Canto Operístico) Pachuca de Soto, Mexico, held in the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo; Conservatorio Nacional de Música, Santo Domingo; Operafestival di Roma, Rome, Italy; the Kentucky Governors School for the Arts; and at the pre-professional level across North America. Recent opera performances include: Nadir in Bizet s Les Pecheurs de Perles with FM Opera, Camille in the Operafestival di Roma production of La vedova allegra (The Merry Widow, Lehar) in Rome, Italy, Count Almaviva in productions of Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Acadiana Orchestra, Louisiana and Opera Fort Collins, Colorado, Don Ottavio in Rome, Italy in the Operafestival di Roma production of Don Giovanni, and as Alcindoro in La Boheme in a natioanllly broadcast production with the National Symphony of the Dominican Republic. Mark and his wife, Cynthia Lawrence, appeared in recital at the 4th International Conference on the Physiology and Acoustics of Singing at the University of Texas, San Antonio. They are also advocates of philanthropic activities and have appeared in concert engagements such as a Gala Fund Raising Concert for the new Cancer Center at Georgia Regents University and the Columbus Zoo. Mark was born and raised in Cottage Grove, Minnesota, earned a B.M. in K-12 Music Education from Concordia College, Moorhead and a M.M. in Voice Performance & Pedagogy from the University of Colorado, Boulder. He is a recipient of the Ted & Roberta Mann and Berneking Fellowships from the University of Minnesota where he is near completion of his DMA.