American Soprano to appear at Saint Michael's College for gala concert. Jennifer Bird (soprano) will appear in a concert on Wednesday, March 25, 2015 at 7:30pm at the McCarthy Arts Center Recital Hall at Saint Michael’s College in Colchester, VT. Presented by Bill Reed Voice Studio as part of The Singer’s Art Concert Series and sponsored by the Saint Michael’s College Department of Fine Arts, with concert pianist Paul Orgel accompanying, the recital will include songs by Purcell, Debussy, Mahler, Berg, and Bernstein. Jennifer enjoys a busy and varied singing career in the US and Europe, having built a reputation as a charismatic, intelligent and versatile performer of more than 50 roles in opera, operetta and musical theater, as well as much of the standard oratorio and concert literature.
Jennifer Bird, who, in a review by Der Kurier was acclaimed as “vocally and optically superb” and praised for her “lyric depth with velvety timbre” by Weser Kurier, is in much in demand as a recitalist and concert singer. Jennifer has been the soprano soloist in The Messiah with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, in Dvořák’s Stabat Mater with the Bremer Philharmonic and in a Veteran’s Day concert with the US Army Band at Carnegie Hall. She has been a prizewinner in several international competitions, including First Prizes in the Sylvia Geszty Competition, Elisa Meyer Competition, and the Robert Stolz Competition. As the recipient of a Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship, Jennifer studied in Germany in the Opernklasse of the Hamburg Musikhochschule, where she joined the vocal studio of renowned soprano Judith Beckmann. Jennifer is a member of the voice faculty at the University of Colorado-Boulder.
Pianist Paul Orgel has concertized throughout the United States, China and Eastern Europe as a recitalist, soloist with orchestra, and chamber musician. Critics have praised his playing for its “subtlety and attention to nuance” (Philadelphia Inquirer), “rare pathos” (New York Times), “brilliant technique, sense of humor and fantasy” (Bridgeport Post), and “warmth and beauty of sound” (Barre-Montpelier Times Argus). A prominent private teacher in Northern Vermont, he is a member of the keyboard faculty at the University of Vermont, and the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, and can be heard on recordings on the CRI, Capstone, Phoenix USA, and MSR labels.
Bill Reed has dedicated his professional life to guiding singers in their quest to realize their potential as performing artists. Bill was born into a show business family, the son of Vernon Reed of the Buffalo Bills (the acclaimed barbershop quartet). He began his vocal music education at the University of Wisconsin (Madison), where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree. (Bill is a proud member of the Badger Ice Hockey Hall of Fame). He completed his studies at Columbia University, where he earned a doctorate in vocal music education. After a busy and rewarding career as a college choral director, studio voice teacher and concert singer, Bill established a private voice studio in New York City near Lincoln Center, and began his twenty-five year career as singing teacher at the renowned Circle in the Square Theatre School. For over thirty years, he was privileged to work with singers from all over the world, whose specialties ranged from opera to pop and rock, and Broadway to folk and country. He has consulted on a number of Hollywood movies and commercial recordings, and his students have performed at the Metropolitan Opera, City Opera, many European opera houses, and in hundreds of Broadway shows and national tours. Bill’s students have won Oscar Hammerstein, MAC, Drama Desk, Emmy and Tony awards.
In Vermont, Bill’s adult students have had leading roles in numerous local community and professional musical theater productions. His college and school-aged students have performed extensively in school productions and have gone on to study singing and musical theater at many of the most prestigious colleges, universities, and conservatories in the country. A number of Bill’s Vermont students are working professionals and have recently performed in leading roles at the New York City Opera and on Broadway. Bill is in demand nationally as a clinician, and has been invited to give workshops at many colleges, universities, and meetings of professional organizations.
There is a suggested donation of $10.
For more information, please contact Sally Olson, Managing Director, Bill Reed Voice Studio: admin@billreedvoicestudio.com
www.billreedvoicestudio.com
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