Marjorie Owens, Vocal Music 1999 becomes the first graduate fo the school to be on the METROPOLITAN OPERA roster. Next season she will cover two roles at the house. Owens has previously sung with The Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, and Wolf Trap Opera.
This brings to a total of 5 the graduates of the department who are currently singing professionally with major American Opera companies. Owens, Barbara Quintiliani with Washington Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and Boston Lyric Opera, Matthew Moore and Daniele Walker with Los Angeles Opera, and Andrea Moore with Washington National.
Vocal Music graduate Marjorie Owens gains major review at Stars of Lyric Opera Concert 9/8/07
From the Chicago Tribune: John von Rhein, Tribune Music Critic:
Young soprano shines brightest as Lyric Opera Stars come out
"The brightest star of the evening was vocally alluring young soprano Marjorie Owens, whose rock-solid technique, rich-burgundy timbre and deep musicality enabled her to deliver an impressive "Un bel di," from Puccini's "Madama Butterfly"...Clearly she's destined for great things."
VOCAL MUSIC DEPARTMENT NEWS 2007
Collaborative Efforts with Virginia Opera/ TODI Music Fest
The department is very busy participating in VA Opera productions this season. Six students will sing in the adult chorus as S. T. A. R. interns this year in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Pirates of Penzance, Eugene Onegin, and Lucia di Lammermoor. Dept Chair Alan Fischer will be on the music staff of the opera as cover conductor for Pirates of Penzance.
The S. T. A. R. Program, co-created by Vocal Music department chair Alan Fischer and Virginia Opera's Ass't Artistic Dir. Joseph Walsh, is a program where all Vocal Music students travel to the opera house for a series of master classes with Peter Mark, Joe Walsh and other members of the artisitic staff. In addition, the opera chooses serveral students to intern as chorusters in productions throughout the season.
Since 2002, a similar internship program with the school and TODI Music Fest provides students the opportunity to intern in the chorus of the festival's summer opera production. This past summer seven students sang in the chorus of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin along with faculty members Alan Fischer, and Charlene Marchant.
Faculty from New England Conservatory (Patricia Craig), Westminster Choir College (Margaret Cusack), North Carolina School for the Arts (Marilyn Taylor), George Mason University (Patricia Miller), Shenandoah Conservatory (Aime Sposato), Carnegie Mellon University (Susanne Marsee), and Hartt College (Joanna Levy) recently visited the school to do master classes with students and do on site auditions for their college vocal programs. Teachers from many of these schools are planning to return this year for master classes.
VOCAL DEPARTMENT FACULTY:
ALAN FISCHER
Vocal Music Department Chair Alan Fischer has been with the Governor's School since January of 1994. He is a professional opera singer, and began singing professionally at age 6, as a member of the Metropolitan and New York City Opera Children's Choruses. He currently has an active repertoire of over 50 character tenor roles, and has performed with many US opera companies including San Francisco, San Diego, Dallas, Philadelphia, Fort Worth, New Jersey State, Toledo, Palm Beach, Mississippi, the Spoleto Festival, and Virginia Opera. He made his European opera debut in 1994.
As department chair he has created a pre-conservatory model of learning for his students with an emphasis in the areas of art song, opera, and choral music. He has conducted and directed productions of Amahl and the Night Visitors, The Marriage of Figaro, The Magic Flute, The Ballad of Baby Doe, The Impresario, La Serva Padrona, Hansel and Gretel, The Medium, Orfeo ed Euridice, Die Fledermaus, and Dido and Aeneas with the students.
He is co-creator, with Joseph Walsh, Assistant Artistic Director of Virginia Opera, of the S.T.A.R. (Student Training Artistic Residency) Program, a collaboration between the Virginia Opera and the Governor's School. S.T.A.R. provides internships at Virginia Opera for the advanced students, and master classes in voice, acting, and makeup for all students in the vocal department. He has also co-created a similar internship level in the TODI Music Fest opera chorus with festival founder Howard Bender.
He has sung numerous roles with the Virginia Opera, including Spoletta in Puccini’s TOSCA, the Abbe and L'Incredibile in Giordano's ANDREA CHENIER, Benoit and Alcindoro in Puccini's LA BOHEME, Emperor Altuom in Puccini’s TURANDOT, Elder Gleaton in Floyd’s SUSANNAH, and Monostatos in Mozart's THE MAGIC FLUTE. Last year he joined the music staff of the opera as cover conductor for SUSANNAH, and will do the same this year for Gilbert and Sullivan’s PIRATES OF PENZANCE.
In June of 2003 he was one of four teachers in the country cited by the North Carolina School for the Arts during their Commencement for achievement in secondary arts education.
ROBERT BROWN
Chorus Director and Principal Accompanist Robert Brown has been a faculty member of The Governor's School for the Arts since its inception in 1984. He has worked exclusively with the Vocal Music department, and has collaborated with Alan Fischer since 1994. He is the Chorus Director, principal coach and accompanist in the department, and also teaches Theory, Sight-singing, and Voice. He trained in piano and voice techniques at Norfolk State University and Virginia Commonwealth University. He was a member of the Virginia Opera chorus for six seasons, and made his solo debut with the company as Schmidt in Andrea Chenier in the 2003 season. For the last two years, he conducted the chorus in Handel's Messiah. Currently, Mr. Brown is choral director for the Unitarian Church in Norfolk.
MICHAEL REGAN
Accompanist/Coach Michael Regan received his Bachelor's Degree in Music Education and Sacred Music, and his Master's Degree in Organ Performance at East Carolina University under Dr. E. Robert Irwin and did work towards his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Performance and Literature at the Eastman School of Music with the late Russell Saunders. Mr. Regan has concertized throughout United States, and at conventions of the American Guild of Organists, and is the immediate past Dean of the Tidewater Chapter of the AGO. He has participated in and won a number of competitions both National and International and has served as music director for churches in North Carolina, New York, Virginia and Maryland, and on the faculty of the University of Maryland while living in Italy. Mr. Regan is currently Organist/Choir Director at Larchmont United Methodist Church in Norfolk, VA. He has been on faculty at the Governor's School for six years.
KAREN HOY
Karen Hoy has been on the faculty since 2003 teaching Voice, Diction
and Art Song Literature. She is currently Vice President of NATS, the National
Association of Teachers of Singing.
CHARLENE MARCHANT
Charlene Marchant has sung with the English National Opera and the
Washington Opera. She has been on the faculty since 2000 teaching
Diction and Voice, and is also on the vocal faculty of Hampton University.
JAMES SENSON -Theory, Piano Skills
James is a graduate of The Governor’s School’s Instrumental Music
Department and currently teaches for that department as well as for Vocal
Music. He has been on the musical staff of Virginia Opera, and rejoins
the VM department as accompanist, and teaching Theory, Piano Skills,
and Accompaniment.
LEE TEPLY- Theory, Vocal Ensemble
Dr. Lee Teply has been on faculty since 2002 teaching Theory, Sight
Singing, and directing the Advanced Vocal Ensemble. He teaches at Old
Dominion University and leads the ODU Madrigal Singers and Collegium
Musicum. He is one of the two classical music reviewers for the
Virginian-Pilot. He also is the Director of Music at First Lutheran Church
in Norfolk.
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