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Singers:
FAQs |
Current Singers |
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Singer FAQ’s
Q. When are the auditions?
A. The 2008-09 District auditions will be held on Saturday, October 18th, 2008 at Kuttemperoor Auditorium, Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts in Brookfield, WI.
Q. Where do I send my application?
A. Kathy Pyeatt, Director Wisconsin District MONC, N6445 County Road I, Fredonia, WI 53021. There is also an electronic application available. Kathy prefers this, then she does not have to decipher your hand writing! To receive an electronic application via email please contact Kathy at info@moncwidistrict.org *APPLICATIONS WILL BE AVAILABLE IN EARLY JUNE*
Q. Is there a deadline for applications?
A. Yes. District materials must be sent and post marked no later than Wednesday, October 1, 2008. Due to time constraints we may need to limit the number of singers. It is therefore suggested that you submit your materials as soon as possible as applications will be processed in the order that they are received.
Q. How do I get to Kuttemperoor Auditorium at the Wilson Center?
A. Please click here for directions.
Q. I have friends and family that would like to see the auditions, do I need tickets?
A. Yes. Tickets are sold at a nominal charge ($5) directly through the Wilson Center for the Arts Box Office. Singers with a confirmed audition time will receive 2 complimentary tickets directly from the District Director.
Q. What time do I need to be at the auditions and where do I go?
A. You will receive a letter from the District Director with all the pertinent information approximately 2 weeks before the auditions.
Q. What do I wear for the District Auditions?
A. It is suggested that all contestants dress as if they were singing a mainstage audition. Suits and ties or sport coats and ties for the men and dresses or pants suits for the women.
Q. Will there be a place and time to warm up?
A. Yes. You will be assigned a warm-up room 30 minutes prior to your audition. Ten minutes before your audition the rehearsal room chairman will have someone take you to the back stage waiting area. We have very limited space for warm-ups, we can only guarantee 20 minutes for each contestant, please plan accordingly.
Q. Can I bring my own accompanist?
A. Yes, however, the District provides two excellent accompanists at no cost to the singer. You must let us know if you plan on bringing your own.
Q. Can I change my arias from my original list?
A. Yes, you can change your arias right up to the day of the auditions. The District Director will be in contact with you approximately one week before the auditions for your latest aria list. If your arias change after that, please bring 5 copies of the new aria list noting the five arias you are prepared to sing to the auditions. Include the opera and the composer for each aria.
Q. When will the results be announced?
A. The judges will deliberate immediately following the last singer. It is possible that the judges will ask to hear “call-backs”. The judges’ decisions will be announced in Kuttemperoor Auditorium approximately 45-60 minutes after the last singer is heard.
Q. Will I have an opportunity to speak with the judges about my performance?
A. Yes. After the results are announced, you will have one of the most valuable benefits of the auditions – a chance to speak with each judge one on one. We will schedule the interviews in the same order as you sang.
Q. How many singers advance to the Regional Auditions?
A. There is no preset number of winners. The judges will select as many or as few contestants as they deem qualified to advance.
Q. If I advance, what is the date and where are the Regional Auditions?
A. The Upper Midwest Regional Auditions take place on January 19, 2009 at the Ted Mann Concert Hall on the campus of the University of Minnesota.
Q. How do I receive information about the auditions and other events sponsored by the Wisconsin District?
A. Contact Kathy Pyeatt at (414) 881.8766 or email:info@moncwidistrict.org
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Bryan Boyce, bass-baritone
Bass-baritone Bryan Boyce is a native of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. He has performed in Minneapolis/St. Paul with Theatre de la Jeune Lune (Figaro in FIGARO and Don Giovanni in DON JUAN GIOVANNI), Theatre Latté Da (Colline in LA BOHEME and Olin Blitch in SUSANNAH), and has sung comprimario roles with the Minnesota Orchestra and The Minnesota Opera. Mr. Boyce has spent three seasons in the Central City Opera's Young Artist Training Program performing various comprimario roles and most recently covering Leporello in Don Giovanni. This past year he toured with Theatre de la Jeune Lune's operatic re-imaginings to the American Repertory Theatre (Cambridge, MA) and to the Berkeley Repertory Theatre (Berkeley, CA). In the Minnesota Opera's Resident Artist Program this season his roles will include the Old Gypsy in IL TROVATORE, Pantalone and the Drum Maker in THE ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO (by Jonathan Dove) and Don Basilio in IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA.
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Colleen Brooks, mezzo-soprano
Colleen Brooks, (District Katz Award Winner 2006,
District Fifth Place Award Winner 2005), has recently become a mezzo! She
will be making her mezzo-soprano debut this July as Rosina in Rossini's Barber
of Seville this summer with Rising Star Singers in Rising Sun,
Indiana. This weekend she is singing the soprano II part in Mozart's
C Minor Mass in Cincinnati, OH. She will also be working with Thomas
Pasatieri this coming August and performing several songs from his cycle LETTER
TO WARSAW in College-Conservatory of Music's Grandin Music
Festival. This past year Colleen tackled the soprano solo part of
Stravinsky's ballet LES NOCES. In the year to come Colleen plans
finish her doctorate degree at the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati.
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Melanie Cain, soprano
Melanie Cain, Soprano, holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance and a Masters of Music from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A native of Carroll, Iowa, she received her BA in both Music and Art from Luther College in Decorah, IA. Melanie has performed numerous roles in the Madison area receiving rave reviews. Her past roles include Second Lady in Mozart’s DIE ZAUBERFLOTE, The Mother and Witch in Humperdinck’s HANSEL AND GRETEL, Madame Lidoine in T HE DIALOGUES OF THE CARMELITES, Alice Ford in FALSTAFF, Rosalinda in DIE FLEDERMAUS While at UW, Cain understudied the well known soprano, Julia Faulkner, in the title role of VANESSA. Melanie was Assistant Director/Stage Manager of the UW Opera’s productions of ORPHEUS IN THE UNDERWORLD and Mozart’s COSI FAN TUTTE and LE NOZZE DI FIGARO under the direction of William Farlow. Cain has received numerous honors including winner of the UW Concerto Competition, was a recipient of the Bolz Fellowship of Music from UW, and had the honor of singing for the famous tenor Ben Heppner
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Anne Graczyk Druce, mezzo-soprano
Ms Graczyk Druce is a dynamic mezzo-soprano who has
performed a wide variety of roles ranging from Kim McAfee in Bye Bye Birdie to Zita in Gianni Schicchi. While an undergraduate,
she understudied Prince Orlofsky in Die
Fledermaus with the Boston University Opera Institute. Ms. Graczyk Druce also participated in the Boston University Symphonic performances of the Mozart Requiem
and Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony at Boston’s Symphony Hall. She has performed the leading roles of
Lucretia in The Rape of Lucretia with
Hartt Opera Theater, Dorabella in Cosi
fan tutte, and Jo March in Little
Women with Intermezzo Development programs. While in graduate school at The Hartt School of Music, she
performed Zita in Gianni Schicchi and
La Zelatrice in Suor Angelica under
the direction of Peter Kazaras. In the
winter of 2006, Anne covered the roles of Second Witch and Spirit with Chicago
Opera Theater. During the 2005-2006
academic year, Anne was the mezzo-soprano intern with American Opera Projects
under the direction of Steven Osgood.
She premiered several new works while being paired with six emerging
composers from around the country as well as scenes from two brand new operas, Heart of Darkness and Bonfire of the Vanities. Most recently
Anne covered and performed the role of Ursula in Beatrice et Benedict also with Chicago Opera Theater. In 2008, Anne will be a featured young
artist with Opera Santa Barbara, covering both Lola and Mamma Lucia in Il Cavalleria.
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Brad Jungwirth, baritone
Baritone Brad Jungwirth, a native of Rochester, MN, earned his Master’s degree in Vocal Performance at the Chicago College of the Performing Arts of Roosevelt University, where he studied with renowned baritone Richard Stilwell. Previous operatic roles include Dr. Engel in THE STUDENT PRINCE with the Music by the Lake festival, the title role in Walton’s THE BEAR and Marcello in LA BOHÈME with Chicago’s Millennium Chamber Players, Count Almaviva in LE NOZZE DI FIGARO with Chicago’s L’opera Piccola, the title role of Mozart’s THE IMPRESARIO and the husband in Menotti’s AMELIA GOES TO THE BALL (both at Roosevelt University). Solo concert performances include Dvorak’s Te Deum, Beethoven’s Mass in C, and numerous masses and cantatas of J. S. Bach. Mr. Jungwirth is also an avid performer of contemporary music, and has been highly praised for his performances of Peter Maxwell Davies’ monodrama 8 SONGS FOR A MAD KING with the Millennium Chamber Players. Most recently, he performed this difficult work at the Jusqu’aux Oreilles contemporary music festival in Montréal, Canada, and has been invited to sing the piece at the 2009 Sound Ways International New Music Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia.
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Rebecca Olthafer, mezzo-soprano
Rebecca Olthafer, (5th Place at the Wisconsin District 2006, Florentine Opera Mainstage Performance Award 2006, Arline Johnson Award 2005), currently resides in Chicago, IL. Following her performances in TURANDOT and DIALOGUE OF THE CARMELITES with the Lyric Opera of Chicago chorus this spring Rebecca sang in the chorus of the Verdi REQUIEM with the Chicago Symphony. This summer, Rebecca will be singing the role of Annina in LA TRAVIATA with Sugar Creek Symphony and Song in Watseka, IL and preparing to teach music appreciation at North Park University next year. Rebecca is the alto soloist and section leader at Northminster Presbyterian Church in Evanston, IL and maintains a thriving private voice and piano studio. www.RebeccaO.com
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Christopher Aaron Smith, tenor
Christopher Aaron Smith is currently in his second year of vocal performance graduate studies at the
New England Conservatory of Music. Recent performance credits include the
Tenor Soloist in Bach's Magnificat and the
Tenor Soloist in Mozart's Requiem (Masterworks Chorale), The Italian in Angêlique (NEC Opera Workshop), Laurie in Little Women
(Stoughton Opera Company), the Tenor Soloist in Dubois's The Seven Last
Words of Christ (Good Shepherd Lutheran Church), the Tenor Soloist in Messiah
(New Berlin Community Symphony), Beadle Bamford in Sweeney
Todd (Four Seasons Theatre), the Duke of Dunstable
in Patience and Marco in The Gondoliers (Madison Savoyards), and Tamino in The Magic Flute, Mr. Angel in Tbe Impresario, and The Narrator in Oedipus
Tex at his alma mater (Wartburg College). Mr. Smith has earned
many vocal scholarships including the Harold Whitworth Pierce Provost
Scholarship (NEC), the Badger Chordhawks Vocal
Scholarship, the Macdowell Music Club Vocal
Scholarship, and the Zahn Meistersinger Scholarship
(Wartburg). At competition, his credits include an Opera Encouragement
Award from the Peter Elvins Vocal Competition, 2nd
Place in the NEC Vocal Concerto Competition, 1st Place in the Adult
Professional Division at the Wisconsin NATS Competition, two Skylight Opera
Theatre Awards for his "unusual dramatic talent, interesting presence, and
vivid projection of text and music" and a Milwaukee Music Teacher's Association, Inc. Award from the Wisconsin District
Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and 1st Place in the
Freshman Male Division at the Iowa NATS Competition. He studies voice
with Patricia Craig and coaches with Michael Strauss, Daniel Wyneken, and Timothy Steele.
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Danielle Steele, soprano
Danielle Steele, a graduate of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, is an active performer and teacher. Her repertoire includes such avant-garde pieces as Pärt’s Passio, and the role of Virginia Poe in Argento’s tone-row opera, THE VOYAGE OF EDGAR ALLAN POE. Ms. Steele is also a passionate supporter of living composers and enjoys performing new and unusual vocal literature. In 2006 she performed in the Cincinnati New Music Festival and premiered 3 Haiku, a work by composer Christopher Levin.
In 2007, Ms. Steele formed The Steele Project, a non-profit opera company dedicated to premiering lesser-known quality one-act operas while giving undergraduate performers a legitimate professional experience and promoting arts in the communities in which they perform. In 2010, Opera Steele is slated to premier a new opera by composer Frank Felice.
Ms. Steele currently resides in Indianapolis, IN, where maintains a private voice studio, is minister of music at a Methodist church, and sings professionally with Indianapolis Opera, where she made her debut as Second Spirit in THE MAGIC FLUTE last fall. She is currently studying with Julia Faulkner.
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Susan Wiedmeyer, soprano
Susan Wiedmeyer, native of Waukesha, Wisconsin, recently graduated from St. Olaf College with a BM degree in vocal performance. While at St. Olaf, she studied under the guidance of Janis Hardy and she was actively involved with several lyric theater productions. Her most recent roles include: Catherine in PIPPIN, Sandrina in Mozart’s LA FINTA GIARDINIERA and YumYum in an adapted version of Gilbert and Sullivan’s THE MIKADO. After taking some time off to continue her vocal studies privately with Dr. Valerie Errante, she plans to attend graduate school and earn her MM degree in vocal performance.
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DISTRICT AWARDS
The judges may send as many Winners on to the Regional Auditions as they feel appropriate. They may also distribute Encouragement Awards to singers not quite ready to advance, but showing great promise.
2007 RESULTS
WINNER:
Lucas Harbour, $5150
ENCOURAGEMENT AWARDS:
Janalyn Bump, $2000
Sarah Shestak, $2000
Andrew Kroes, $2000
Jennifer Haworth, $1350
Susan Wiedmeyer, $1350
Rebecca Young, $1350
PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD
Kerry Hart, $250
In addition to the awards, the Florentine Opera and The Skylight give several singers performance opportunites.
FLORENTINE OPERA MAINSTAGE AWARD:
Steven Ebel
SKYLIGHT OPERA MAINSTAGE AWARD:
Lucas Harbour
FLORENTINE OPERA RECITAL:
David Govertsen
Kerry Hart
Megan Radder
The Wisconsin District Metropolitan Opera Auditions Committee wishes to thank these generous donors for the grants presented to the District Winners and those receiving Encouragement Awards.
$5,000 Donated by Henry H. Uihlein, Sr. & Marion (Polly) S. Uihlein as a tribute to Henry’s parents, Herman A. and Claudia Holt Uihlein.
$2,700 Donated by the Milton R. Sheffield Trust.
$1,500 Donated by the Florentine Opera Club to honor its founding president Audrey Baird.
$1,000 Donated by the Ryan Matthew Porter Scholarship Fund.
$700 Donated in memory of Josephine Busalacchi by Helen Ceci, Susan Holmes, Kathleen Marquardt and Bettina Walton.
$650 Donated in memory of Dr. Philip Ruetz by his wife Dolores.
$600 Donated by John Holland in honor of Irma and Agnes Katz.
$500 Donated in memory of Frank Juvan by his wife Lenore.
$500 Donated by Mary E. Kelly.
$500 Donated by the Milwaukee Music Teacher’s Association, Inc.
$500 Donated by the Romany Singers in honor of their director and teacher Gloria Rodriguez Kappel.
$500 Donated by The Skylight.
$300 Donated by Madison Opera, Inc. in honor their co-founder and producer Arline Johnson.
$200 Donated in memory of Joan Kreitzer Snyder by her family.
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