Success Beyond Image With Afton Battle, Joseph London and David Portillo; Moderated by Sam Handley
This panel discussion addressed going beyond what performers look like to reveal what they have to say with the voices they have.
Afton Battle, General Director of Fort Worth Opera; Broadway and Opera star Joseph London; and David Portillo, international opera tenor will share their perspectives on what it took for them to stay on the path toward success, what the vocal world needs to be doing into the future, and what voice teachers can do right now for their students and the art. This town-hall style discussion, moderated by singer, voice teacher, and administrator Sam Handley, will include topics of Race, Ethnicity, Weight, Gender, and Sexuality.
Queens of Composition:
Excellence in the music by Black-American Women
with Rae-Myra Hilliard
The first of our Cracking the Canon Series was free to CCNATS Members
This presentation featured Black-American Women composers and their songs—from the recognizable to the lesser-known—and was taught by Rae-Myra Hilliard.
Including:
Florence B. Price (1888-1953) Lillian Evanti (1890(1)-1967)
Undine Smith Moore (1904-1989) Margaret Bonds (1913-1972)
Lena McLin (b. 1928) Valerie Capers (b. 1935)
Jacqueline (Jacqui) Hairston & Regina Harris Baiocchi (. 1956)
Rae-Myra set out on a journey of discovery and a lifetime of dedication to champion the works of Black-American composers and their songs after a seminal experience early in her career: “In the 1980’s I had the opportunity to see and hear Thomas Hampson in recital at Kleinhans Music Hall in Buffalo, NY. This recital was one of his first in presenting his “Songs of America” project. My one disappointment with that recital was he did not sing one song composed by a Black-American, not even a Burleigh spiritual which was the banner for many recitals in demonstrating diversity for years. That disappointment stayed with me and once I made the jump wholeheartedly into the world of classical music, I was determined to find such works.”
Rae-Myra Hilliard is equally at home in operatic, solo concert, and choral singing. She has performed with the Greater Buffalo Opera Company, Buffalo Opera Unlimited, Opera Sacra and the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus, the Chicago Symphony Chorus, Grant Park Symphony Chorus, Chorus Angelorum, Fourth Presbyterian Church Morning Choir, St. Edmund’s Episcopal Church, and Bach and Beyond. As concert soloist, Ms. Hilliard has performed with Bach and Beyond, St. Edmund’s Episcopal Church, South Shore Community Chorus and the Music Institute of Chicago Chorale. Through her association with the Chicago Symphony Orchestral Association, Ms. Hilliard worked with its South Shore community programs as section leader, vocal instructor and assistant conductor.
Ms. Hilliard’s operatic roles performed include the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro, Serena in Porgy & Bess, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Miss Pinkerton in The Old Maid and the Thief, Singing Spirit in Sunyata (world premiere), and Emma Berdis Jones (mother of writer James Baldwin) in The Baldwin Chronicles (world premiere)
Rae-Myra is an active recitalist who consistently programs works featuring Black-American composers/lyricists or works written for a classical singer of color. Her debut CD, Lifescapes: One Woman’s Journey is a compilation of songs written by Black-American composers. The CD is available on CD Baby for download. Rae-Myra is on faculty at the University of St. Francis, the Music Institute of Chicago, and Evanston Township High School, and is also Music Director at St. James Lutheran Church in Lake Forest, IL. She holds her M.M from the University of Northern Iowa and is a member of NATS, AGMA, and the National Association of Negro Musicians (NANM).
Excellence in the music by Black-American Women
with Rae-Myra Hilliard
The first of our Cracking the Canon Series was free to CCNATS Members
This presentation featured Black-American Women composers and their songs—from the recognizable to the lesser-known—and was taught by Rae-Myra Hilliard.
Including:
Florence B. Price (1888-1953) Lillian Evanti (1890(1)-1967)
Undine Smith Moore (1904-1989) Margaret Bonds (1913-1972)
Lena McLin (b. 1928) Valerie Capers (b. 1935)
Jacqueline (Jacqui) Hairston & Regina Harris Baiocchi (. 1956)
Rae-Myra set out on a journey of discovery and a lifetime of dedication to champion the works of Black-American composers and their songs after a seminal experience early in her career: “In the 1980’s I had the opportunity to see and hear Thomas Hampson in recital at Kleinhans Music Hall in Buffalo, NY. This recital was one of his first in presenting his “Songs of America” project. My one disappointment with that recital was he did not sing one song composed by a Black-American, not even a Burleigh spiritual which was the banner for many recitals in demonstrating diversity for years. That disappointment stayed with me and once I made the jump wholeheartedly into the world of classical music, I was determined to find such works.”
Rae-Myra Hilliard is equally at home in operatic, solo concert, and choral singing. She has performed with the Greater Buffalo Opera Company, Buffalo Opera Unlimited, Opera Sacra and the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus, the Chicago Symphony Chorus, Grant Park Symphony Chorus, Chorus Angelorum, Fourth Presbyterian Church Morning Choir, St. Edmund’s Episcopal Church, and Bach and Beyond. As concert soloist, Ms. Hilliard has performed with Bach and Beyond, St. Edmund’s Episcopal Church, South Shore Community Chorus and the Music Institute of Chicago Chorale. Through her association with the Chicago Symphony Orchestral Association, Ms. Hilliard worked with its South Shore community programs as section leader, vocal instructor and assistant conductor.
Ms. Hilliard’s operatic roles performed include the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro, Serena in Porgy & Bess, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Miss Pinkerton in The Old Maid and the Thief, Singing Spirit in Sunyata (world premiere), and Emma Berdis Jones (mother of writer James Baldwin) in The Baldwin Chronicles (world premiere)
Rae-Myra is an active recitalist who consistently programs works featuring Black-American composers/lyricists or works written for a classical singer of color. Her debut CD, Lifescapes: One Woman’s Journey is a compilation of songs written by Black-American composers. The CD is available on CD Baby for download. Rae-Myra is on faculty at the University of St. Francis, the Music Institute of Chicago, and Evanston Township High School, and is also Music Director at St. James Lutheran Church in Lake Forest, IL. She holds her M.M from the University of Northern Iowa and is a member of NATS, AGMA, and the National Association of Negro Musicians (NANM).
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AUDITIONING IN THE VIRTUAL WORLD
Do you have students preparing for college music or music theater programs who are trying to navigate virtual auditions? Do you have questions about what colleges are expecting in this new process? Do you have students unsure if they should pursue performing arts at the college level? If you have these questions, or others like them, this workshop is for you, your students and their families! The CCNATS annual College Audition Workshop is an online panel discussion and presentation for high school students of all ages considering singing in their college years. Whether your student is preparing for a classical voice audition, musical theater BFA program or an arts supplement for the common app, this workshop is a must-attend event. Hear from college teachers and professionals on subjects like selecting the best repertoire, making audition videos, how to arrange the best possible accompaniment, and other important topics. This year's panel featured one of Chicago's finest collaborative pianists and faculty from The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Northwestern University, and DePaul University. Teaching the transgender voiceCCNATS kicked off its 2020-21 Teacher Workshop season on September 27th from 2:00-3:30 pm on zoom! This workshop was FREE to all CCNATS members.
Author/co-author of One Weird Trick: A User’s Guide to Transgender Voice and The Singing Teacher’s Guide to Transgender Voices and co-founder of The Voice Lab, Inc. Liz Jackson Hearns guides voice teachers through an interactive online workshop to serve transgender and non-binary students. Topics include cultural responsiveness, considerations for voice range and repertoire, medical transition for singers, and techniques for gender-perceived voice. At the conclusion of this session, you will be able to:
Liz teaches fellow voice teachers who are eager to support their transgender and non-binary students through workshops, public speaking, training sessions, and online courses. Liz is the author of One Weird Trick: A User's Guide to Transgender Voice and co-author of The Singing Teacher's Guide to Transgender Voices. |
