Horne to Lead Vocal Masterclass on July 4
Popular classes combine instruction and performance
For Immediate Release June 23, 2009
Contact:
Tim Dougherty
805.695.7908
Santa Barbara, CA – Celebrated mezzo-soprano and Academy Voice Program Director Marilyn Horne – "America's greatest living singer," in the words of KUSC's Jim Svejda – will lead a vocal masterclass at 3 pm Saturday, July 4, in Santa Barbara's Lobero Theatre. Tickets cost $30.
Ms. Horne, who at her peak possessed a voice of ineffable incandescence, infuses her masterclasses with the same intensity that marked her distinguished career as a performer. Continuing in the tradition of Music Academy cofounder and legendary German soprano Lotte Lehmann, who pioneered the masterclass concept, Ms. Horne charismatically guides and instructs young singers, in effect offering a private lesson in public and drawing on her astonishing gifts as a teacher and a performer in equal measure. "What impresses most about [Ms.] Horne's teaching technique is her ability to focus on detail ... and never lose sight of the color, atmosphere, and emotional dynamics of a song" (musicalamerica.com).
Ms. Horne, who assumed the Academy Voice Program directorship in 1997, has been a dominant figure in the singing world for more than four decades. In 2002, Opera News declared, "Marilyn Horne – whose face and song have been in the light – in so many places, in so many styles, through so many media, for so many years – may be the most influential singer in American history." Her numerous honors include a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award and a Lifetime Achievement Award from Gramophone magazine. She was named a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1995, received the National Medal of Arts in 1992, and was inducted into the American Classical Music and Hollywood Bowl halls of fame. Earlier this year, Ms. Horne was named a 2009 National Endowment for the Arts Opera Honors recipient. Among her worldwide prizes are the Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters from France's Ministry of Culture, the Commendatore al Merito della Repubblica Italiana, the Fidelio Gold Medal from the International Association of Opera Directors, and the Covent Garden Silver Medal for Outstanding Service. In an unprecedented development, Ms. Horne received Italy's first Rossini Medaglia d'Oro, created especially for her.
Ms. Horne has performed in more than 1,300 recitals and made well over 100 recordings. Her most recent release, Marilyn Horne - Just for the Record: The Golden Voice, is a retrospective of her career and includes classical songs, opera, and American standards. All Through the Night, an album of lullabies from around the world, and O Holy Night: Christmas with Marilyn Horne and the Morman Tabernacle Choir were re-released in 2005. Her autobiography, Marilyn Horne: The Song Continues, written with Jane Scovell, was published in 2004. Ms. Horne has been a visiting professor at the University of Oklahoma, Manhattan School of Music, Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the University of Maryland at College Park. She has also led masterclasses around the country at the invitation of the Houston Grand Opera Studio, the Curtis Institute of Music, and the Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Development Program, among others. Ms. Horne and Barbara Cook have performed their joint recital, titled Just Between Friends, many times in the last decade at concert venues around the country, including Boston's Symphony Hall and The Granada in Santa Barbara.
As part of its 62nd Summer Festival, the Music Academy also will present an ambitious production of Ambroise Thomas' charming French Romantic opera Mignon, as well as performances by conductor Leonard Slatkin and pianist Christopher Taylor. The Academy will present 197 events over the course of this year's Summer School and Festival, which began June 22 and concludes on August 15. Additional highlights will include performances by the Canadian Brass and the Takács Quartet, and conducting turns by Larry Rachleff, Peter Oundjian, George Manahan, Nicholas McGegan, and Alexander Mickelthwate. Featuring the Academy's exceptionally talented Fellows, together with illustrious guest performers and faculty, the events will be presented at the Academy's scenic Miraflores campus and in venues throughout Santa Barbara.
For information, call 969-8787. Information is also available online at www.musicacademy.org.
Founded in 1947, the Music Academy of the West is among the nation's preeminent summer schools and festivals for gifted young classical musicians. The Academy provides these promising musicians with the opportunity for advanced study and frequent performance under the guidance of internationally renowned faculty artists, guest conductors, and soloists. Admission to the Academy is strictly merit based, and Fellows receive full scholarships (tuition, room, and board). Academy alumni are members of major symphony orchestras, chamber orchestras, ensembles, opera companies, and university and conservatory faculties throughout the world. Many enjoy careers as prominent solo artists. Based in Santa Barbara, the Music Academy of the West presents more than 200 public events annually, including performances by faculty, visiting artists, and Fellows; masterclasses; orchestra and chamber music concerts; and fully staged opera. The Music Academy began broadcasting live performances by the world-renowned Metropolitan Opera at Hahn Hall in October 2008. For more information, visit www.musicacademy.org.
