MSU Opera Workshop- Master Class Series

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                           

March 6, 2011

Contact:  Vincent Dion Stringer                                                       

Office: 443-885-4316

 vincent.stringer@morgan.edu

The Morgan State University Opera Workshop presents

A Master Class with Tenor Kenneth Kamal Scott

BALTIMORE, MD –The Morgan State University Opera Workshop (MSUOW)—Vincent Dion Stringer, Director—proudly announces a Master Class with Broadway Star, Kenneth Kamal Scott.  This master class is one of a series of classes which is being presented this 2010-2011 academic year at Morgan State University.   It will take place on Thursday, April 7, 2011 at 4:00 PM in the Recital Hall, which is located in the Murphy Fine Arts Center. 

Kenneth Kamal Scott has participated in many arenas of America's artistic world, including the dance. Scott is a singer, dancer and actor whose sixty-five year career has included numerous achievements in a diverse array of genres and settings, including Broadway, jazz, pop, opera, ballet and modern dance. Scott began his performance career as a singer at age seven, and by the age of eleven began performing at the Apollo Theater as the featured vocalist for legends such as Earl "Fatha" Hines. Other notable accomplishments include dancing as a member of the Alvin Ailey company in 1959,He has been guest artist, Boston Pops under John Williams, the Virginia Beach Pops, New Jersey Philharmonic singing Uriel in Haydn’s Creation, and tenor for Messiah, Nevada Symphony. Other engagements include, “Sportin’ Life” in Porgy and Bess, Virginia Opera, Cover tenor for original Three Mo' Tenors; “Griot” in Black Nativity, Fitzgerald Theatre, Minneapolis. Broadway credits include Hello Dolly, Guys & Dolls, Two Gentlemen of Verona, and starring role of the 'Wiz' in the original Broadway company and in the 2004 Wiz production, Houston’s Theater Under the Stars. Mr. Scott is a regular recitalist in European classics and African-American Jazz. Concerts include: portrayal of Roland Hayes in his prime, The Legacy of Roland Hayes - 2001 Salt Lake City, Utah, recital at Merkin Hall, Lincoln Center in October 2004, and on April 3, 2010, a recital at the Countee Cullen Library, Schomburg Museum, Manhattan. He is presently on faculty at the New School University for Jazz and Contemporary Music and Mannes College of Opera.

The Master Class Series was created to provide young artists who are studying and practicing the art forms of opera and musical theater the opportunity to perform their craft in a formal program and a formal setting. The acoustically sound – and beautifully-appointed Gilliam Concert Hall provides such a professional setting.  The program’s director, Vincent Dion Stringer, an accomplished opera singer, says:  “The performances by our talented students are so mesmerizing that as I experience their singing, I have to remind myself that I am watching students!”

The MSUOW is a comprehensive curriculum of study and performance within the Morgan State University Department of Fine and Performing Arts. The Workshop gives vocal music majors—who aspire to perform –the education, the “book learning, and the performance experience to be comfortable in competing for roles and positions within the world of opera.  Most of the students who participate in MSUOW are also members of the acclaimed Morgan State University Choir, Dr. Eric Conway, director. 

Admission is Free 

Related websites:  www.murphyfineartscenter.org      

Wisdom from the Journey: An Interview with Junetta Jones conducted by Vincent Stringer

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                         Contact:  Vincent Dion Stringer

March 6, 2011                                                                                                       443-885-4316

                                                                                                     vincent.stringer@morgan.edu

The Morgan State University Opera Workshop presents

Wisdom from the Journey Series

An Interview with retired operatic soprano, Junetta Jones

BALTIMORE, MD –The Morgan State University Opera Workshop (MSUOW)—Vincent Dion Stringer, Director—proudly announces a live onstage interview with retired international opera singer, soprano Junetta Jones(Metropolitan Opera 1963-65). This interview will take place on Tuesday March 15^th at 4:00 PM in the Recital Hall, which is located in the Murphy Fine Arts Center. 

 Junetta Jones born 1937 is an American operatic soprano. A Baltimore native, she is a graduate of Frederick Douglass Senior High School. After earning a Bachelor of Music from Morgan State College, she was awarded a three year scholarship to the Peabody Conservatory where she earned a diploma in 1961 and studied singing with Joseph Laderoute. She then pursued further studies at the New England Conservatory where she earned a Master of Music in 1963 and was a pupil of Gladys Miller. She studied at the Tanglewood Music Center in the summer of 1961. In 1963 she won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera on Halloween of 1963 as the Celestial Voice in Giuseppe Verdi’s Don Carlos with Richard Tucker in the title roles. She sang two seasons at the Met, with other roles including the 1^st Genie in The Magic Flute, the Page in Rigoletto, and Barbarina in The Marriage of Figaro. From 1965-1969 she performed with major opera houses in Europe. She worked for 20 years on the advisory committee for art and culture for the city of Baltimore.

Inspired by James Franco and Inside the Actor’s Studio, Vincent Dion Stringer has created “Wisdom from the Journey” a series to celebrate, educate and provide young artists who are studying and practicing the art form of opera the opportunity to learn, hear and meet artists in the field of opera past and present.

The MSUOW is a comprehensive curriculum of study and performance within the Morgan State University Department of Fine and Performing Arts. The Workshop gives vocal studies music majors—who aspire to perform –the education, the “book learning, and the performance experience to be comfortable in competing for roles and positions within the world of opera.  Most of the students who participate in MSUOW are also members of the acclaimed Morgan State University Choir, Dr. Eric Conway, director. 

Admission is Free.

Related websites:  www.murphyfineartscenter.org      www.cysomusic.org      www.msuchoir.org

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Spring 2011 Opera Gala at Morgan State University

The Morgan State University Opera Workshop presents

Audrey Mccallum honored at SPRING 2011 OPERA GALA

A collaboration with the Chesapeake Youth Symphony Orchestra

and the Morgan State University Choir

BALTIMORE, MD –The Morgan State University Opera Workshop (MSUOW)—Vincent Dion Stringer, Director—proudly announces its Spring 2011 Opera Gala.  This annual event presents a carefully selected program of opera and instrumental performances.  It will take place on Sunday March 13^th at 5:00 PM in the Gilliam Concert Hall, which is located in the Murphy Fine Arts Center. 

On this program we will honor our retiring much faculty member, Mrs. Audrey McCallum.  She has given 20 years of service to Morgan State University and over 50 years of service in the field of education and music. She is a true gem and we will surely miss her presence on our faculty.

The Opera Gala presents operatic performances by young performers who are either involved in opera or studying the opera form.  The vocal performances will be accompanied by the Chesapeake Youth Symphony Orchestra, Julien Benichou, director.  These selections include works by Leoncavallo, Puccini, Tchaikovsky and Verdi.  In addition to the operatic selections, the program includes a special performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concert No. 2 by Chester Burke, a Morgan State University senior, and a celebrated pianist in his own right.

The Gala was created to provide young artists who are studying and practicing the art form of opera the opportunity to perform their craft in a formal program and a formal setting. The acoustically sound – and beautifully-appointed Gilliam Concert Hall provides such a professional setting.  The program’s director, Vincent Dion Stringer, an accomplished opera singer, says:  “The performances by our talented students are so mesmerizing that as I experience their singing, I have to remind myself that I am watching students!”

This is the 2^nd collaboration between the MSUOW and the Chesapeake Youth Orchestra, whose home base is in Annapolis, Maryland.  They study and train under the leadership of professional conductors who are committed to developing the next generation of musicians.   

The MSUOW is a comprehensive curriculum of study and performance within the Morgan State University Department of Fine and Performing Arts. The Workshop gives vocal music majors—who aspire to perform –the education, the “book learning, and the performance experience to be comfortable in competing for roles and positions within the world of opera.  Most of the students who participate in MSUOW are also members of the acclaimed Morgan State University Choir, Dr. Eric Conway, director. 

The accompanying orchestra, the Chesapeake Youth Orchestra, is an orchestra comprised of young musicians 8-18 years of age. 

Tickets for the Gala ($15 General admission; $5 for Students with ID) are available at the Murphy Fine Arts Center ticket office (443-885-4440), which is located at the front entrance:  2201 Argonne Drive.  Baltimore, MD  21218