From Chorister Mary: Dear Chorus,
Dr. Karen Murphy from Mississippi State University will be conducting a master class on Friday, April 27, with selected music majors from NVCC. I came across Dr. Murphy’s bio on-line and thought I’d share it with you. You can find her bio at http://www.music.msstate.edu/faculty/ .
Dr. Murphy is known as a “collaborative pianist”; this is a term about which you may not be familiar. A collaborative pianist is not just a superb accompanist. He or she is also knowledgeable about the vocal performance practice of all classical music styles (e.g., Baroque, Romantic) and is familiar with a wide range of classical vocal repertoire. The collaborative pianist coaches the singer on interpretation and presentation of an aria, oratorio, or art song – not so much on the singer’s vocal production technique. (As many of you know, for the latter, the singer works closely with his or her voice teacher to identify vocal issues and to improve technique.)
So, you might ask why you should attend the master class if you were not one of the four lucky souls selected by Dr. Whitmire to be coached next Friday afternoon. First, because there is a lot to be learned from watching a master work with each of those students (a tenor, a baritone, and two sopranos), no matter what their voice type, repertoire, or skill level. Second, because opportunities to observe master classes taught by guest artists don’t come along that often. And third, because the master class is free. 😉
The master class starts at 4:00. Later that evening, at 7:30, you can enjoy Dr. Murphy’s skillful accompanying in Jonathan Price’s recital. (Also free! )
Lastly, a reception will be held immediately after the recital. You guessed it — free. 😉 (As Fred Wulff would say, “Wow.”)
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