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W. Stephen Smith
William Stephen “Steve” Smith (born December 18, 1950) is an American voice teacher, author and baritone singer. He is a professor of Voice and Opera at the Bienen School of Music of Northwestern University, voice faculty for the Ryan Opera Center of Lyric Opera of Chicago, voice faculty emeritus of the Aspen Music Festival and School and founder/director of the Naked Voice Institute. Early life Smith was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas on December 18, 1950, the son of Buel Smith and Jolene (née Hooton). He was raised in Pocahontas, Arkansas and Corning, Arkansas. His father owned a nearby Ford dealership. As Smith's father did not approve of his musical interests as a child, his first job was mowing a neighbor's lawn every week in order to be able to afford to pay for piano lessons on his own. Education and early career After graduating as valedictorian from Corning High School in 1968, Smith attended Harding University, where he graduated with a B.A. in music in 1972. Sm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jonesboro, Arkansas
Jonesboro () is a city located on Crowley's Ridge in the northeastern corner of the U.S. State of Arkansas. Jonesboro is one of two county seats of Craighead County, Arkansas, Craighead County. In 2023, the city had an estimated population of 80,560, making it the List of municipalities in Arkansas, fifth-most populous city in Arkansas. In 2020, the Jonesboro metropolitan area had a population of 134,196, and the Jonesboro-Paragould Combined Statistical Area had a population of 179,932. Jonesboro is the home of Arkansas State University and is the cultural and economic center of Northeast Arkansas. History The Jonesboro area was first inhabited for thousands of years by indigenous peoples. At the time of the European encounter, historic tribes included the Osage Nation, Osage, the Caddo, and the Quapaw. The name for the state of Arkansas comes from the Quapaw language. The French and Spanish traders and trappers had relations with those groups. After the United States acquire ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Corning High School (Arkansas)
Corning High School is an accredited comprehensive public high school serving students in grades seven through twelve in the rural community of Corning, Arkansas, United States. It is one of three public high schools located in Clay County and serves the Clay and Randolph County communities of Corning, Biggers, Reyno, Maynard, Peach Orchard, Datto, Lafe, Rector, Knobel, Success, Pollard, and McDougal. With more than 200 students, it is the sole high school in Corning School District. Academics The school is accredited by the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE). The assumed course of study follows the Smart Core curriculum developed by the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE), which requires students to complete at least 24 credit units before graduation. Students engage in regular (core) and career focus courses and exams and may select Advanced Placement (AP) coursework and exams that may lead to college credit. Athletics The Corning High School mascot and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phonation
The term phonation has slightly different meanings depending on the subfield of phonetics. Among some phoneticians, ''phonation'' is the process by which the vocal folds produce certain sounds through quasi-periodic vibration. This is the definition used among those who study laryngeal anatomy and physiology and speech production in general. Phoneticians in other subfields, such as linguistic phonetics, call this process '' voicing'', and use the term ''phonation'' to refer to any oscillatory state of any part of the larynx that modifies the airstream, of which voicing is just one example. Voiceless and supra-glottal phonations are included under this definition. Voicing The phonatory process, or voicing, occurs when air is expelled from the lungs through the glottis, creating a pressure drop across the larynx. When this drop becomes sufficiently large, the vocal folds start to oscillate. The minimum pressure drop required to achieve phonation is called the phonation thres ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eric Owens (bass-baritone)
Eric Owens (born July 11, 1970) is an American operatic bass-baritone. He has performed both in new works and reinterpreted classic repertoire. In 1996 he won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Life and career Born in Philadelphia, Owens began studying the piano at the age of 6 at the Settlement Music School. In junior high school his interest shifted to the oboe and he began studying the oboe at the Settlement Music School with English-horn player Louis Rosenblatt of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He later continued his oboe studies with Laura Ahlbeck, a second oboe in the Metropolitan Opera orchestra, while attending Central High School in Philadelphia. During his senior year at Central High, he entered the pre-college program at Temple University's Boyer College of Music and Dance where he began studying singing seriously with George Massey. He matriculated to Temple as a Freshman in 1989 and earned a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the school in 1993 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brian Mulligan
Brian Mulligan is an American operatic baritone who has performed in major opera houses and concert halls all over the world. Mulligan's diverse repertoire currently includes over 60 roles in seven languages. He regularly performs the standard works of Puccini, Verdi, and Wagner, yet also sings the music of living composers such as John Adams, Dominick Argento, and Gregory Spears. In September 2018, ''The Washington Post'' wrote "Mulligan is a big man with a big voice. His baritone is almost embarrassingly rich in its low and middle registers, with a high range and head voice of bell-like purity. His diction is flawless. Most importantly, he imbues every syllable with unmistakable meaning and purpose." Early life and education Born in Endicott, New York, Mulligan has two younger brothers and was raised in an Irish Catholic home. His parents were born in Ireland, which allowed Mulligan to be granted dual citizenship with the United States and Ireland. Mulligan studied voice at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rod Gilfry
Rodney Gilfry is a leading American operatic baritone. After launching his career at Frankfurt Opera in 1987, Gilfry quickly established a reputation for stylish singing and acting. A renowned Mozart specialist, he has given acclaimed performances as Don Giovanni, Count Almaviva, Guglielmo, and Papageno, and is also known for his work in roles from the standard baritone repertoire ( Pelléas, Valentin, Orestes, Belcore, Billy Budd). Early years and training Rod Gilfry was born 11 March 1959 in Covina, California, and grew up in West Covina and Claremont. He received a bachelor's degree in music education from Cal State Fullerton and a master's degree in voice from the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California. He studied at the Music Academy of the West with Martial Singher with whom he also studied privately for six years. In 1999 he sought further refinement of his technique and studied in Manhattan with Armen Boyajian, teacher of Samuel Ramey and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joyce DiDonato
Joyce DiDonato (née Flaherty; born February 13, 1969) is an American opera singer and recitalist. A coloratura mezzo-soprano, she has performed operas and concert works spanning from the 19th-century Romantic era to those by Handel and Mozart. Educated at Wichita State University and the Academy of Vocal Arts, DiDonato began her career in mid-1990s, participating in young artist programs of several opera companies, most notably Houston Grand Opera. Since then, she began having engagements across the United States and Europe. She made debuts at La Scala in Rossini's '' La Cenerentola'' in the 2000/01 season, the Royal Opera in Janáček's ''The Cunning Little Vixen'' in 2003, and the Metropolitan Opera as Cherubino in Mozart's ''The Marriage of Figaro'' in the 2005/06 season. She has performed in world premieres of several operas, such as Michael Daugherty's '' Jackie O'' (1997), Mark Adamo's ''Little Women'' (1999/2000), Jake Heggie's '' Great Scott'' (2015), and Kevin Pu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christine Brewer
Christine Brewer (born October 26), is an American soprano opera singer. Biography Brewer grew up in the Mississippi River town of Grand Tower, Illinois. She attended McKendree University in Lebanon, Illinois and concentrated on music education. She was a music teacher for several years before embarking on a professional music performing career. She began her career in St. Louis, Missouri with the Saint Louis Symphony Chorus. She auditioned in 1981 for the chorus of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (OTSL), in the start of her career in opera. Her first OTSL work was in the chorus of " The Beggars Opera" in 1982. Her first major role with OTSL was as Ellen Orford in ''Peter Grimes'' in 1990. In 1989, she participated in a masterclass with Birgit Nilsson and was one of the 10 winners of the National Council auditions sponsored by the Metropolitan Opera. While her daughter Elisabeth was in school during the academic year, Brewer deliberately limited her work in staged opera productio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named after its principal benefactor Augustus D. Juilliard. It is widely considered one of the world's most prestigious conservatories. The school is composed of three primary academic divisions: dance, drama, and music, of which the last is the largest and oldest. Juilliard offers degrees for Undergraduate education, undergraduate and Graduate Studies, graduate students and Liberal arts education, liberal arts courses, non-degree diploma programs for professional studies, professional artists, and musical training for secondary school, pre-college students. Juilliard has a single campus at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, comprising numerous studio rooms, performance halls, a library with special collecti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is an American opera company located in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1955 by German-born impresario Walter Herbert and three local Houstonians,Giesberg, Robert I., Carl Cunningham, and Alan Rich. ''Houston Grand Opera at 50.'' Houston: Herring Press, 2005, p. 83. the company is resident at the Wortham Theater Center. This theatre is also home to the Houston Ballet. In its history, the company has received a Tony Award, two Grammy Awards, and three Emmy Awards, the only opera company in the world to win these three honours. Houston Grand Opera is supported by an active auxiliary organization, the Houston Grand Opera Guild, established in October 1955. __TOC__ History In 1955, the German-born impresario Walter Herbert and Houstonians Elva Lobit, Edward Bing, and Charles Cockrell founded the company. Its inaugural season featured two performances of two operas, ''Salome'' (starring Brenda Lewis in the title role) and ''Madama Butterfly''. David Gockl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
University Of Houston
The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in the first decades of the 20th century. In 1934, HJC was restructured as a four-year degree-granting institution and renamed University of Houston. In 1977, it became the founding member of the University of Houston System. Today, Houston is the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas, awarding 11,350 degrees in 2024. As of 2024, it has a worldwide alumni base of 331,672. The university consists of fifteen colleges and an interdisciplinary honors college offering some 310-degree programs and enrolls approximately 37,000 undergraduate and 8,600 graduate students. The university's campus, which is primarily in southeast Houston, spans , with the inclusion of its two instructional sites located in Sugar Land and Katy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
