All the World’s a Stage
Selected Recent Accomplishments of Petrie School of Music Faculty & Students
Rebecca Turner, Associate Professor of Voice, Director of Converse Opera Theatre
Faculty
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escribed as the ‘Pied-Piper’ of the Petrie School of Music, everywhere Rebecca Turner goes to sing or teach a master class, students follow her back to Converse. Look no further than page 15 for a perfect example in Donna Gallagher ’10 with whom she performed at the National Concert Hall in Dublin, Ireland this summer. With over 500 performances to date, Turner has performed on a number of the world’s most recognized stages, including the Shanghai Grand Theater in China, where she was the first soprano in China’s history to perform a Wagner opera, and most recently, the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.
When were you more nervous—walking on your first stage or in front of your first classroom?
“Without question it was my first classroom, specifically my first opera rehearsal at Converse. For many years as an actress, I had been on the ‘receiving’ end in a stage-rehearsal situation; but, being on the ‘giving’ end as a stage director is a whole other ball of wax. It’s one thing as a performer to be responsible for your own personal product; however, a stage director is responsible for the entire process. I was obsessed with thoughts of wanting to be as clear and concise as possible, and inspiring each performer to reach their highest potential.”
With over 500 performances to date, which are the most memorable for you?
“Well, my first was certainly memorable. Others include my performances of Senta in Richard Wagner’s Der fliegender Holländer at the Grand Theater in Shanghai, China, where I was the first soprano in China’s history to sing in a Wagner opera; and my last performance in Bremen (June, 2003) of Elsa in Wagner’s Lohengrin.”
With such an impressive career, you must have faced a few roadblocks along the way. What lessons did you learn as a result?
Explain how music education is relevant in the 21st century.
Your students have sung in major opera companies around the globe. Can you describe how you help each one reach their highest potential?
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• Patricia Foy ’77, associate professor of music education, was inducted into SC Music Educators Association Hall of Fame. She also appeared on the session “Profile of a Career Music Educator” at the Music Educators’ National Conference Biennial Conference in Anaheim, CA. • Beverly Hay, Daniel professor of voice, served on the faculty of Operafestival di Roma in Italy. • Miles Hoffman, associate professor of viola, was host of South Carolina and nationwide radio broadcasts of Chamber Music from the Spoleto Festival USA. • Keith Jones, associate professor of voice and choral activities, appeared as tenor soloist with the Norfolk Cantata Singers in Virginia. • Susan Lyle, associate professor of voice and director of choral activities, was guest soloist with the Bach Consortium in Freiburg, Germany.
Above: Rebecca Turner, Donna Gallagher ’10 and Director of Accompanying Mildred Roche
“I have learned that the only person one can really depend upon in this business is oneself. Ultimately, performers (specifically singers) want to be in complete control of their environment, hoping to ensure the highest possible performance level. But, what is hard to embrace is the fact that one cannot control the actions and perceptions of others, whether they are our colleagues, agents, conductors or audiences. The only thing/person we can control is ourselves and what we are willing to bring and/or sacrifice to the process.” “As it always has been. The arts are essential in developing well-rounded citizens, and I believe music, specifically, has a way of reaching people on so many different levels. In equipping young artists with varying tools of communication, they will find ways of changing and enhancing lives, and at the end of the day, isn’t that the goal for which we should all be striving?” “Each performing artist is unique and special. Therefore, no performing journey can, or should be, the same. My job, as a teacher, is to not only guide my students on their journey, but to inspire them. I believe a teacher’s primary objective is to render him or herself obsolete. Ultimately, these young artists are going to have to stand on their own before many types of audiences, and my task is to help them develop their own tools to be successful in their endeavors.”
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Siegwart Reichwald, associate professor of musicology, published an article in Performance Practice: Issues and Approaches and gave a presentation at the Felix Mendelssohn International Musicological Congress in Leipzig, Germany. He also edited Mendelssohn in Performance (Indiana University Press), which was a finalist for the 2009 American Musicological Society Solie Award, and presented a lecture at the Lyrica Dialogues at Harvard University.
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Scott Robbins, associate professor of musicology and composition, had his Two Songs for Baritone and Guitar performed nationally and internationally in prestigious sites such as St. Martin-in the-Fields. The Prague Radio Symphony’s recording of his composition Spooky Does the Bunny-Hop is scheduled for release on the Masterworks of the New Era series.
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Rebecca Turner, associate professor of voice, appeared as guest artist with American Chamber Players and as master teacher in Dublin, Ireland, where she gave a concert at the National Concert Hall. She also performed in Arthur Roach’s version of Redd Reidenhude with the Washington Shakespeare Company at the Kennedy Center.
• Chris Vaneman, associate professor of flute and musicology, was elected president of the South Carolina Flute Society and, together with Kelly Vaneman, associate professor of oboe and musicology, performed in concert at the Royal Jordanian Conservatory. • Doug Weeks, Babcock professor of piano, was a Fulbright Senior Specialist at the Conservatory of Music in Cairo, Egypt. He performed Rhapsody in Blue with the Cairo Symphony in a concert of Fulbright teachers and students, which included Wael Farouk MM ’06. • Elizabeth York, associate professor of music therapy, presented a course with colleagues from the AMTA Ethics Board entitled Working in Harmony: Music Therapy Ethics, at the American Music Therapy Association National Conference in San Diego, CA.
Students • Katherine Bowen ’10 attended the summer institute of the University of Miami in Salzburg, Austria. • Donna Gallagher MM ’10 performed the role of Norina in Don Pasquale in Viterbo, Italy and of Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte in Dublin, Ireland. • Joyce Jin ’12 sang the role of Barbarina in The Marriage of Figaro with Operafestival di Roma in Italy. • Audrey Rose ’10 composed an anthem for children’s choir, Now We Worship, which has been selected for publication by Augsburg Fortress Publishers in ChildrenSing For Worship. • Sara Rossi ’11 attended Yale University’s Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. • Natasha Senanayake’s ’12 commissioned composition, Of Shores Near and Far, was premiered by the Sri Lanka National Symphony.
PSOM Accomplishments