"Nuit d'Etoiles" by Debussy from the Young Artist's Recital

Young Artist's Recital: Festival South 2011

This fabulous group of young artists presented an art song program at Bay Street Presbyterian in downtown Hattiesburg.  I was privileged to sing with them in the Young Artist's Recital.  This recital was part of the music festival, Festival South 2011.  I auditioned earlier this year for the festival's Young Artist program and was accepted for a role in the opera, Mozart's Magic Flute.  Along with preparing the opera, the accepted young artists are participating in weekly personal coaching with a varied faculty of talented vocal coaches, singing in masterclasses, and learning German diction with USM's Dr. Odom.  We presented art songs in an audition for the Young Artist's Recital, and I was accepted to sing Debussy's "Nuit d'Etoiles."  I was coached for the recital by professional soprano and Southern Miss alumnus Emily Hindrichs, who is here to sing the role of Queen of the Night with the Saturday cast.

The little Bitsy Queen of the Night

Well, this is what I get for dragging Anna Laurie to four hour opera rehearsals two night in a row.  We got in around 11pm, and she began her "rehearsal".  "Here take this," she commanded in her big black boots.

My McNair Research Presentation

I presented my undergraduate research Fall 2010 during the McNair Scholar's Research Symposium at USM.  The motive for my topic was to legitimize the piano works of Shostakovich.  Works of Soviet composers are often passed over by Western artists as propaganda efforts for a demanding government instead of honest personal art.  Shostakovich did compose propaganda pieces, it would have been impossible for him to survive if he did not.  However, there is much evidence in the history, originality, and quality workmanship of many of his compositions to argue for their artistic value and honesty.  I chose to work on a small category of his compositions that pertains specifically to my discipline, solo piano.

The Clumsy Viennese Waltz

Our Opera theatre class had to learn the Viennese waltz. No, this is NOT the Viennese waltz, but it was as close as we could get.  It was part of the purpose of the class to get us comfortable at moving on stage.  We are singers!  We stand and sing.  The idea of moving fluidly and gracefully is tough for some of us, but here we are.  We survived, and not a single person fell, (this unprecedented fact should prompt a grand opera chorus worthy of Puccini, or Bellini, or linguini....guess I worked up an appetite dancing).