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