Tuesday, Feb 28, 2012
includes a master class, recitals and lectures March 3 & 4. Free Admission.
by Anne Sears
Westminster Choir College will present the 2012 Art Song Festival, focusing on British song, Saturday, March 3 and Sunday, March 4 in Bristol Chapel on the campus of Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton, N.J. The program will feature lectures, master classes and recitals.
Saturday, March 3, 2012 at 10 a.m., Kathryn LaBouff, author of Singing and Communicating in English: A Singer’s Guide to English Diction, will conduct a master class focusing on singing in English..
Saturday, March 3, 2012 at 8 p.m., Westminster Choir College students, accompanied by J.J. Penna, will perform works by Roger Quilter, Thomas Dunhill, Hubert Parry, Peter Warlock, Ralph Vaughan Williams, George Butterworth, Gerald Finzi, William Walton, Michael Tippett and more. Professor of Voice Lindsey Christiansen will present a pre-recital lecture about British song at 7:15 p.m.
Sunday, March 4, 2012 at 8 p.m., Westminster Choir College students, accompanied by J.J. Penna, piano; Andrew Megill, harpsichord and John Rosendaal, viola da gamba, will perform songs by Benjamin Britten and Henry Purcell. Associate Professor Stephen Arthur Allen will present a pre-concert lecture at 7:15 p.m.
Stephen Arthur Allen has earned performing and teaching diplomas in brass instrument playing and has won national awards as a euphonium soloist. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from the Birmingham Conservatoire and his Doctor in Philosophy from Oxford University. He is the founder and musical director of The Princeton Brass Band.
Lindsey Christiansen is active as a clinician for master classes and lectures in song literature and voice pedagogy. Ms. Christiansen holds a Bachelor of Art in Music History from the University of Richmond, and a Master of Music in Voice and Organ from the University of Illinois. In addition to teaching at Westminster Choir College, she has taught at the University of Illinois and the University of North Carolina.
Kathryn LaBouff, a vocal arts diction coach, holds a Bachelor of Music, Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts in Voice Performance from the University Of Michigan School Of Music. She is assistant chair of the Voice department at Manhattan School of Music, has coached various opera productions, and has been on the Juilliard School’s faculty since 1986. Her book, Singing and Communicating in English: A Singer’s Guide to English Diction, was published by Oxford University Press in 2007.
Andrew Megill, Westminster Choir College professor and conductor of Westminster Kantorei, is recognized as one of the leading choral conductors of his generation. He also leads the Carmel Bach Festival Chorale and the Chorus of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, as well as The Masterwork Chorus. Dr. Megill is the artistic director of Fuma Sacra, and he is admired for his performances of Baroque repertoire.
J.J. Penna, has performed in recital with some of the world’s most notable singers. Dr. Penna holds a doctoral degree from the University of Michigan, and he has served on the faculties of the Yale University School of Music, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, the Bowdoin Chamber Music Festival and the Ravinia Festival’s Steans Institute for Young Artists. He is currently serving on the coaching faculty of The Juilliard School.
Admission to all events is free. Westminster choir College of Rider University is located at 101 Walnut Lane in Princeton, N.J.