UT to present two concerts on the Toledo Museum of Art Great Performances in the Great Gallery Series – February 14 and 21

 

The Toledo Museum of Art Great Performances in the Great Gallery series will include two performances – one featuring University of Toledo students and another featuring UT faculty and internationally-acclaimed baritone, Ryan De Ryke.

Sunday, February 14 at 3 p.m. voice and piano students from the UT Department of Music will perform a range of selections from operas and favorite vocal music. The following Sunday, February 21 at 3 p.m., UT professor of piano, Dr. Michael Boyd and De Ryke will perform a program of art song. Highlights from the program include Schumann’s “Dichterliebe” and a cycle of songs by The Smiths arranged by Ryan. Admission to both concerts is free and open to the public.

Current professor of piano at UT – Dr. Boyd received his undergraduate degree from the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, and his master’s and doctoral degrees from Eastman School of Music. Over the years he has given many solo recitals across the country and internationally.

Baritone Ryan De Ryke has studied at the Peabody Conservatory, the RAM, and the National Conservatory of Luxemburg. Aside from his recital career De Ryke is also a regularly traveling soloist in various oratorios. He has worked numerous operatic roles, and has had the opportunity to work with a variety of different groups such as the Haymarket Opera, El Paso Symphony Orchestra, and the Chamber of Chicago.

For more information on these events, visit the museum’s website at http://www.toledomuseum.org/calendar/

For information on other UT arts events, visit http://www.utoledo.edu/cocaevents/index.html

Source: Michael Boyd

Source: UT Department of Music

The UT Department of Music warmly invites you and your family to join us for one or both of two amazing holiday concert events!

Thursday, December 10 at 7 p.m., the UT Jazz Holiday concert—an annual favorite—will feature performances from all of the UT jazz ensembles, as well as special guests. The program includes a large selection of the best holiday jazz tunes. Come a little early to the concert to take photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus! Bring your cameras.

Then Sunday, December 13 at 3 p.m., the College of Communication and the Arts celebrates the season in style with its Holiday Showcase, a concert combining the musical with the theatrical. The concert is about one hour and 15 minutes and is perfect for the very young and young at heart. This concert also includes an appearance by Santa for photos with you and yours.

The students of the Art Department will hold a Holiday Art Sale before and after the CoCA Holiday Showcase concert. They will be selling student artwork, ornaments, pottery, jewelry and cards—perfect for holiday gift-giving. There will also be Art Department t-shirts and tote bags for sale. They will be happy to hold your purchases for you until after the concert. Proceeds from the sale benefit the students directly and will be used to cover the costs of student travel and scholarships.

Both concerts will be held in Doermann Theater in UT’s University Hall (the building with the University’s signature clock tower). Free parking is available in the lots nearest to Doermann (Area 13 and Area 1N). Plus, golf carts will be on hand to give you a lift to the door.

Tickets to either concert are $10 each and are just $5 for students, children and seniors. They can be purchased at the door or in advance through the UT Center for Performing Arts Box Office. Call 419.530.ARTS (2787) or go online to www.UToledo.Tix.com.

I hope you’ll join us this holiday season for one of these great concerts! For more concerts and events visit utoledo.edu/CoCAevents.

Voice students Devon Desmond, Nadia Oselsky and Meridian Prall placed first, second and third, respectively, in this year’s Barbara Rondelli Perry Scholarship Competition for Superior Achievement in Voice Performance.

Devon Desmond (baritone) is a senior at The University of Toledo, majoring in Vocal Performance. He has been in many UT opera productions, appearing in the title role in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, as Toby in Menotti’s The Medium, Top in Copland’s The Tender Land, Bob in Menotti’s The Old Maid and the Thief, and Tom/John from Mollicone’s The Face on the Barroom Floor. Devon has also performed a junior recital and in many opera gala’s and choir concerts. Devon also performed at Bottom in the UT Theatre & Film Department production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, for which he was nominated to compete in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) competition. Devon also competed at the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Ohio competition last spring in which he won 3rd place. Devon has studied voice under Carolyn Seeman, Don Bernardini, Dr. Denise Ritter Bernardini, Kim Buhler, and Micah Graber.

Nadia Oselsky (mezzo-soprano) is currently in her fourth year as a Vocal Performance major at The University of Toledo, studying under Dr. Denise Ritter Bernardini. For her junior recital, she performed songs that focused on Slavic Repertoire, as part of her degree requirement. Last summer Nadia studied in Sansepolcro, Italy for three weeks, where she performed the role of La Ciesca in Giacomo Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi as well as participating in voice coachings and taking Italian lessons. After Italy, she traveled to Czech Republic for the Moravian Master Class and spent almost two weeks there. She worked with three different coaches on a daily basis on Antonín Dvořák’s Gypsy Songs. Nadia also had the privilege of studying Czech diction with Mirka Zemanová, the founder of the program. Nadia’s most recent performance was with The University of Toledo Opera Ensemble in Gianni Schicchi as Ciesca. Last fall, she was in An American Triptych: A Salute to American Opera, in which she played the role of Sally in A Hand of Bridge by Samuel Barber, and 2nd Barista in Seymour Barab’s A Game of Chance. Nadia’s previous operatic roles include Zita in Gianni Schicchi, and Jane in Patience by Gilbert and Sullivan.

Meridian Prall (soprano) is currently a Freshman Vocal Performance major studying with Dr. Denise Ritter Bernardini at UT. She has previously been involved in different programs hosted at UT, including the Toledo Art Song Festival, and the Marilyn Horne Master Class which took place in October of 2013. Ms. Prall has been to Italy twice with different summer opera programs, including a program with The University of Toledo and North Carolina Young Artists Project over the summer of 2014 where she performed as Serpina in Cimarosa’s La Serva Padrona. In the fall of 2014, she played Knitter I in A Game of Chance by Seymour Barab with the UT Opera Ensemble, and most recently as Zita in its production of Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. She is also active in classical singing competitions. In May of 2014, Ms. Prall placed third at the national Classical Singer Competition in San Antonio, Texas.

Nnenne Edeh, Voice Student at The University of Toledo

Nnenne Edeh, a junior majoring in voice at The University of Toledo won first place in the local 2015 Vocal Arts Competition for Emerging Artists. She will go on to compete in Detroit this summer at the regional finals, and if successful, to the national competition in New York in July.

Contestants had to perform an opera Aria, foreign-language Art Song, an Art Song in English, a selection from oratorio, and a Spiritual or piece by a black composer. The competition is presented annually by the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc.

Nnenne is a member of the UT Opera Ensemble and has performed roles in many of its productions. She was Zita in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi (Spring 2015), a role she also performed in the summer of 2014 in Italy during a study abroad experience. She was Mrs. Nolen in UT’s production of Menotti’s opera The Medium and Proserpina in its production of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo.

By Kevin Bucher : October 24th, 2013 (re-posted by the UT College of Communication and the Arts)

Students have the opportunity to perform at the café in the Barnes & Noble University Bookstore.

Ben Vasko, a freshman studying music business, already has kicked things off, performing on most Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. He is the first student featured this year at the café.

Vasko plays alternative indie pop-rock, comparing the music he performs to bands such as Switchfoot, House of Heroes, Thirty Seconds to Mars and Anberlin, which is his favorite.

He has been writing music for five years, but he started playing percussion when he was in middle school. Learning to play a variety of instruments, including drums, guitar, bass and piano, he performs live acoustic sets at local bars and coffee shops.

Vasko said he enjoys playing at the University Bookstore because he feels more connected with the audience.

“It’s fun. It’s a nice, mellow, low-key coffee shop gig. I like that,” Vasko said. “It’s a little more personal. I am able to talk to the people I’m performing for and the tips I get there actually pay for my gas money.”

He is currently a one-man show, but is looking for members to add to his band, The Stairwell. Vasko has received some recent recognition for his music; he won best alternative rock EP in July from The Akademia Music Awards.

He has recorded and released two discs, and his music is available on Spotify, iTunes, Facebook and Twitter. He also has T-shirts and CDs for sale at his shows.

The Barnes & Noble University Bookstore is looking to add more live music performances from UT students throughout the week and also during the weekend.

All student performers are entered for a chance to win free textbooks for spring semester and receive a coupon to be used on a purchase of UT clothing. All performers also are featured on the bookstore’s Facebook page.

Current UT student musicians can contact Colleen Strayer, general manager of the University Bookstore, to discuss performing in the café at utoledo@bkstore.com.

For more information on Vasko, visit reverbnation.com/thestairwell.