Classical Singer Winners Announced in Chicago
The eighth annual Classical Singer Vocal Competition concluded with the final rounds in Chicago, Ill. on May 24-27. More than 1,250 singers participated in the First Round throughout the country and the top 500 singers advanced to Chicago. The competition included the High School, Undergraduate, and Graduate divisions. More than $1.7 million in university and summer program scholarships were awarded to the winners.
The High School Division winners included first place Emily Pogorelc from Whitefish Bay, Wis., second place Aaron Bigeleisen from Pittsford, N.Y., and third place Anna Whiteway from La Crosse, Wis.
The Undergraduate Division winners were first place Melissa Otani-Jensen from Jamaica Plain, Mass., second place Ben Edquist from Nashville, Tenn., and third place Tatiana Ogan from Fort Collins, Colo.
The Graduate Division winners were first place Gillian Hollis from Evanston, Ill., second place Kasey King from Montgomery, Ill., and third place Rainelle Krause from Bloomington, Ind.
All the Final Round Concert performances are available online at
www.classicalsinger.com/convention/competition/videos.php
Arroyo Receives Honorary Degree from Rutgers
Renowned American soprano Martina Arroyo received an honorary doctor of fine arts degree at the Rutgers University 246th anniversary commencement on May 13, 2012. She was honored not only for her singing but also for her position as a dominant force in the international opera world. Her foundation and its programs help emerging artists develop many of the skills necessary for the opera stage.
Raised in Harlem, Arroyo credits her parents with nurturing her singing career. She graduated from Hunter College at the age of 19, taught Italian in the New York City schools, and became a social worker before winning the Metropolitan Opera Auditions in 1958. After that, she sang the leading roles in operas by Verdi, Puccini, and Mozart at the world’s most important opera houses.
news.rutgers.edu/medrel/news-releases/2012/04/acclaimed-soprano-ma-20120402
Archeologists Find Bridge of 2,300-Year-Old Stringed Instrument
In a cave on the Isle of Skye, archeologists found a small burnt and broken piece of carved wood. Skye is the largest and most northerly island of Scotland’s Inner Hebrides group. The piece of wood may well have been the bridge of a lyre. “It pushes the history of complex music back more than a thousand years, into our darkest pre-history,” said University of Cambridge Music Archeologist Dr. Graeme Lawson. More specifically, it tells us about the history of song and poetry, because lyres were often used to accompany vocal music.
The earliest known lyres date from about 5,000 years ago and have been found in what is now Iraq, according to the BBC. In Europe there are ancient pictures of musical instruments, but until now there were no instrumental remains anywhere near that old. Fraser Hunter, principal curator of Iron Age and Roman Collections at National Museums Scotland, said the fragment of a musical instrument put “sound into the silent past.”
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-17537147
D’Oyly Carte Opera Company Will Resume Performing
D’Oyly Carte Opera Company, originally formed in 1878 to present productions of Gilbert and Sullivan operas, ceased operations in 2003. But it did not completely go away, as it still offered score rentals to amateur and professional companies—but for the last decade, it has not presented any performances. Next year, however, the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company and Scottish Opera will co-produce a new staging of The Pirates of Penzance. It will star Gilbert and Sullivan veteran Steven Page and be conducted by John Owen Edwards.
www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/35643/exclusive-doyly-carte-to-return-after
www.doylycarte.org.uk/index2.htm
