Contact:
Helene Erenberg, 404-413-5914
Georgia State University School of Music
ATLANTA – Georgia State University School of Music will host the 29th Harrower Summer Opera Workshop from June 4 to 24. Founded by Peter and Irene Harrower, the workshop is a three-week program including daily acting and movement classes, private coaching, instruction in stage makeup, stage combat and Alexander Technique, foreign language diction, seminars and masterclasses with international artists and fully staged and costumed productions. Carroll Freeman, Valerie Adams Distinguished Professor in Opera at Georgia State and Classical Singer magazine’s 2010 Director of the Year, serves as the Workshop’s artistic director; GSU School of Music Director W. Dwight Coleman serves as general director. They lead a group of esteemed resident faculty, including this summer’s guest artist and performer, internationally renowned singer Sylvia McNair. McNair will lead masterclasses for participants, in addition to performing at the annual Opera Gala on June 17.
A two-time Grammy Award winner, Sylvia McNair lays claim to a stellar, 25-year career in the musical realms of opera, oratorio, cabaret and musical theater. Her journey has taken her from the Metropolitan Opera to the Salzburg Festival, from the New York Philharmonic to the Rainbow Room, from the Ravinia Festival to The Plaza, from the pages of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal to The London Times. As a regular guest soloist with nearly all of the major American and European orchestras and opera houses, McNair has collaborated with an array of today’s most prominent conductors including Seiji Ozawa, Kurt Masur, Leonard Slatkin, André Previn, Neville Marriner and the late Robert Shaw, the musician she credits with giving her the early and important opportunities that started her career. She earned a master’s degree with distinction from the Indiana University School of Music, received honorary doctorates from Westminster College (1997) and Indiana University (1998) and the Ohio Governor’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in Arts and Entertainment (1999). She joined the voice faculty of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University in 2006. In 2007, McNair received The Gaudium Award from The Breukelein Institute for “extraordinary and distinctive contributions to the arts and public life.”
About the Workshop
For the second year, the Workshop will offer participants two separate tracks of study: the Young Artist Program is designed for more advanced singers; the Studio Program was created for singers looking to improve their skills in a nurturing, yet intensive environment.
The 2012 Workshop boasts an impressive faculty, including Carroll Freeman, artistic director/stage director (Georgia State University School of Music, New York City Opera, Edinburgh Festival, Houston Grand Opera, Opera Bobigny-Paris); W. Dwight Coleman, general director/masterclass clinician (Georgia State University School of Music, New Orleans Opera, Atlanta Opera, La Musica Lirica, Italy); Copeland Woodruff, acting teacher/stage director (Juilliard School of Music, University of Memphis, Oberlin, New York City Opera, Chautauqua Opera); Reed Woodhouse, musical director/coach (Juilliard School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, New England Conservatory, Chautauqua Opera); Frank Hube, musical director/conductor (Leipzig Opera, Theâter Lübeck, Opera in the Ozarks); Walter Huff, masterclass clinician (Atlanta Opera, Peabody Opera Theatre, Washington Opera, Baltimore Opera); Kay Paschal, Studio director (Opera in the Ozarks; Georgia State University School of Music, La Musica Lirica); Rolando Salazar, Studio music director (Bellingham Festival of Music, Chamber Music Amarillo, Georgia State University School of Music); ChristinaNoel Reaves, movement (Dancewave, DanceNOW, Jody Oberfelder Dance Project); Chase Wagner, costuming (Theatrical Outfit); John Williams, lighting (Rubicon Studios); Marcus Durham, stage combat instructor (Atlanta Opera, Theatrical Outfit, Atlanta Ballet); Georgi Eberhard, makeup instruction (Chautauqua Opera, Sarasota Opera, Opera Carolina, Atlanta Opera); and Christy Lee and Lucy Hargis, coach-accompanists.
Seventy participants from across the United States were selected through a series of competitive live and taped auditions for the workshop and masterclasses.
Gala Opera Dinner at 103 West – June 17
In conjunction with the Harrower Summer Opera Workshop, the School of Music will present the Gala Opera Dinner at 103 West on Father’s Day, Sunday, June 17 from 6 - 9:30 p.m. This fundraiser for Opera Studies at Georgia State features a gourmet three-course dinner including one glass of wine, accompanied by operatic performances by singers from the 2012 Harrower Summer Opera Workshop and special guest artist Sylvia McNair. McNair will also be available for a post-gala reception and CD signing for those purchasing a platinum level ticket. Dinner will be preceded by a silent auction featuring items ranging from golf outings to voice coachings, to concert and sporting event tickets, and much more.
Ticket Levels for the Gala are as follows:
• Silver Ticket - $120: Includes one ticket to the Gala Opera Dinner and Silent Auction
• Gold Ticket - $150: Includes benefits above, PLUS one ticket to one performance of Mozart’s "Die Zauberflöte" (The Magic Flute), June 22 at 8 p.m. OR June 23 at 3 p.m.; and one performance of Sondheim’s "A Little Night Music," June 23 at 8 p.m. OR June 24 at 3 p.m. at the Florence Kopleff Recital Hall.
• Platinum Ticket - $250: Includes benefits above, PLUS admission to an exclusive Meet and Greet hosted cocktail reception and in-person CD signing (CD included) with Sylvia McNair.
103 West is located at 103 West Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta, GA, 30305. Complimentary valet parking is included. Reservations are requested by June 11 and can be made by calling the School of Music at 404-413-5914.
Performances of "Die Zauberflöte" and "A Little Night Music" – June 22-24
The workshop will culminate in performances of two fully staged works. Performances of Mozart’s "Die Zauberflöte" (The Magic Flute) will take place Friday, June 22 at 8 p.m. and Saturday, June 23 at 3 p.m. Stage directed by Carroll Freeman with musical direction by conductor Frank Hube, this delightful opera tells the story of true lovers who must survive multiple magical ordeals before they can be together. Performances of Sondheim’s "A Little Night Music," stage directed by Copeland Woodruff with musical direction by Reed Woodhouse, will take place Saturday, June 23 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, June 24 at 3 p.m. Sondheim’s brilliant music and lyrics reveal surprising liaisons, simmering passions and a taste of love’s endless possibilities.
Tickets, available at the door, are $20 general admission and $10 students with ID. All performances will be held at the Florence Kopleff Recital Hall, located at the corner of Gilmer Street and Peachtree Center Avenue, inside the Arts and Humanities Building, on Georgia State’s campus in downtown Atlanta. Parking is available for a fee at the Recital Hall “I” Lot (parking entrance on Peachtree Center Avenue).
For additional information, contact the Georgia State School of Music at 404-413-5914 or
404-413-5901 or visit www.music.gsu.edu.
May 30, 2012