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 Faculty
Globe-Trotters
Every summer
our faculty leave South Hill to teach and perform around the nation and
the world. Here is a look at where some of them spent the summer.
Photo: Back from the road are Hansen, Koch, Birr, Morgan, Alexander, and
(front) Dimaras.
Salzburg, Austria
"The greatest enjoyment
I get from this experience is that I’m in touch with so many incredibly
talented young singers," says assistant professor of piano Charis Dimaras
about the four-week University of Miami Summer Program at Salzburg. Established
in 1987, this program accepts up to 50 singers and 20 pianists from universities
and conservatories across the United States.
The students, who
are chosen from hundreds of applicants via audition, take private voice
lessons, perform in concerts, and participate in master classes with world-renowned
guest artists that have included René Fleming, Dawn Upshaw, and
Thomas Hansen.
Dimaras has spent
the last three summers there as a vocal coach, a change from his usual
piano teaching duties at Ithaca College. He enjoys the challenges of working
with so many singers at different stages in their artistic development.
"On a typical coaching day," he explains, "you will see students at different
levels, from their second year of undergraduate study to those finishing
their highly specialized doctoral studies." When not performing, the students
and faculty get a chance to enjoy first-rate music at the Salzburg Festival
as well as the history and beauty of Salzburg.
Brevard, North Carolina
For the past five
summers, the husband and wife duo of percussionist Conrad Alexander and
oboist Paige Morgan have given private studio lessons and performed at
the Brevard Music Center and Festival in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains.
The center offers high school, college, and preprofessional students a
comprehensive music training program, and the festival gives music lovers
a chance to hear performers as different as Kathleen Battle and Art Garfunkel,
the Transylvania Symphony Orchestra and 1960s girl group reincarnations.
All this, plus concerts by the guest faculty artists. Both Morgan and
Alexander enjoy their chances to perform in various faculty ensembles.
"I perform mostly chamber music at IC, while at Brevard I get to play
in a huge orchestra," says Morgan. "The orchestra that we perform with
is great. The faculty is composed of professionals from around the country,
which makes the quality of the orchestra fantastic."
Princeton, New Jersey
Assistant professor
of opera and musical theater Patrick Hansen headed to the Opera Festival
of New Jersey for his second season as music director. OFNJ is a well-regarded
regional opera company that performs both classic and modern repertory
each summer. This year Hansen oversaw the introduction of a young artists
program. These young artists worked as understudies and performed in cabaret-style
offerings after mainstage Friday night performances. This season Hansen
conducted Mozart’s The Magic Flute and the double bill of Bartók’s
Bluebeard’s Castle and Dallapiccola’s Il Prigioniero.
Hansen’s wife, adjunct
assistant professor of voice Elizabeth Koch (soprano), performed in Il
Prigioniero --- the first time in four years the two have worked together.
"At the opera festival," says Hansen, "I get to work with old friends
and new faces. The singers each year are different. Some I know from undergraduate
studies, some from the young artists program at Glimmerglass Opera in
Cooperstown, others from Juilliard or the Lyric Opera of Chicago."
Brisbane, Australia
"I always come back
inspired after performing with these musicians," says assistant professor
of piano Diane Birr when talking about International Workshops.
In its 30th year,
International Workshops was created to offer high school, college, and
professional students a chance to study intensively with world-class faculty
in a new setting each year. This year’s workshops were held in Brisbane,
Australia. "There is a great family atmosphere," says Birr. "You get a
lot of participants and faculty members that come back from year to year."
Birr spends some of
her time administering the accompanist program, but the vast majority
of her time is spent in rehearsal. She generally accompanies string players.
Two concerts a day are performed on each of the 12 days of the workshops,
and she played in 7 this year. It’s hard work, but Birr says she finds
it very satisfying. "It’s nice to know that you can make high-quality
music with some very great musicians --- who are also great people," she
says. "And you get to renew friendships from year to year."
Next summer the International
Workshops destination is Stavanger, Norway. Will Birr be there? You might
want to bet on it.
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