Rebecca Wilson: Aria Competition Finalist & Award Winner

Photo by Gwen Juarez

AU Music graduate and former student of Stephanie Sikora, soprano Rebecca Glass Wilson (2000) recently was awarded a grant from the Gerda Lissner Foundation in the 2015 Wagnerian division and was a finalist in the 2015 Lois Alba Competition. In July, Rebecca will be singing the role of Venus in La púrpura de la rosa with Le Château de la Voix. Rebecca is thrilled to be joining Union Avenue Opera this August as Gutrune in their production in Götterdämmerung.

Also, Rebecca has been heard as soloist with the Baroque Artists of Champaign, The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Choir and Orchestra, Chicago College of Performing Arts Orchestra, the Ashland Symphony Orchestra, and Wheaton Symphony.

 Other Honors and Credits include the following: 3rd Place Finalist in 2007 Bel Canto Foundation, Bravo Award Winner in 2005 Bel Canto Foundation, Suzel in L’amico Fritz, Lady Billows in Albert Herring, Mimi in La bohème, Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte, 2nd Bridesmaid in Le Nozze di Figaro, La Countessa Le Nozze di Figaro, Pat Nixon in John Adam’s Nixon in China, the title role in Finding Yolanda (based on Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta) and WFMT’s Solo Recital Fazioli Salon Series in Chicago.

Video Credits:

Dich, theure Halle from TANNHAUSER by Wagner

Rebecca was accompanied by Maestra Janice Fehlauer

with HD Video provided by Robert Land Productions

Fairy Tales & Opera Join Forces This Weekend

Ashland University Department of Music presents two evenings of opera scenes which will feature scenes from fairy tales and more.  The performances which are free and open to the public are scheduled for Friday and Saturday, April 24 and 25, 7:30 p.m. at the Elizabeth Pastor Recital Hall.

Under the direction of Stephanie Sikora, Professor of Music and Head of the Voice Area in the Department of Music at Ashland University, this annual event features vocal performances from student singers. This year's female cast includes sopranos Abigail Brady, Rachel Gollhardt, Maria Cardona, Fatima Imani Smith, Grace Keller and Hannah Wise along with mezzo-soprano Sarah Napier. Male singers include tenor Corey Turpin, and baritones Deric Dove, DR Haught and Jake Riley.

With scenes from seven different operas each evening, the program presents scenes from fairy tales such as Little Red Riding Hood and Hansel and Gretel along with Donizetti's Elixir of Love, Delibes'Lakme, Bucci's Sweet Betsy from Pike (A Horse Opera), Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, and The Tenderland by Aaron Copland.

TWO FUN EVENINGS OF OPERA SCENES & ICE CREAM

Ashland University Department of Music presents two evenings of opera scenes from The Marriage of Figaro to Carmen and Man of La Mancha.  The performances which are free and open to the public are scheduled for Friday and Saturday, April 11 and 12, 7:30 p.m. at the Elizabeth Pastor Recital Hall.

Under the direction of Stephanie Sikora, Professor of Music and Head of the Voice Area in the Department of Music at Ashland University, this annual event features vocal performances from twelve student singers. The female cast includes sopranos Abigail Brady, Rachel Gollhardt, Victoria Horak, Fatima Imani Smith, Grace Keller and Erin Lingenfelter along with mezzo-sopranos Andrea Disch and Alexandra Newhouse.  Male singers include tenor Caleb Stout, and baritones Darion Dow, Deric Dove and Andrew Shaffer.

With scenes from eight different operas each evening, the program presents scenes from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and The Magic Flute, Strauss' Die Fledermaus, Loesser's The Most Happy Fella, Gilbert & Sullivan's Mikado, Bizet's Carmen, Leigh and Darion's Man of La Mancha, and Street Scene by Weill and Hughes as the grand finale including a special discount for audience members at Eva's Treats after each performance.

GUEST ARTISTS PERFORM SONGS OF BEETHOVEN

Ashland University Department of Music presents a guest artist recital, “Songs of Beethoven,” on Thursday, March 20 at 7:30 p.m. in the Elizabeth Pastor Recital Hall. The concert is free and open to the public.

This recital will feature sopranos Stephanie Sikora (Ashland University Professor of Voice) and Katharine DeBoer, tenor Timothy Johnson, and James Meadors on the guitar. This program of Beethoven songs with guitar transcriptions by James Meadors is presented in approximate chronological order by poet, which generally correlates with the order in which Beethoven set the texts. Of Beethoven’s sixty-six songs composed for accompaniment by the (then) new pianoforte, Meadors’ transcriptions favor those which are most adaptable to guitar. 

Two master classes will also be offered by guitarists Dr. Meadors and Dr. DeBoer on March 20. The two sessions are located in the Center for the Arts at 10:50 a.m.-12:05 p.m. in Rm. 102 and 12:15-1:05 p.m. in Rm. 242. These classes are free and open to public observation.

ASHLAND UNIVERSITY TO PERFORM BRAHMS REQUIEM

The Department of Music at Ashland University is proud to present the choral and orchestral masterpiece by the beloved romantic composer Johannes Brahms. Directed by Dr. Rowland Blackley, the Brahms German Requiem will be performed by the Ashland University Choir, Ashland Area Chorus and Ashland Chamber Orchestra on Saturday, April 27 at 7:30 PM in Hugo Young Theatre.

Over 120 musicians will fill the Hugo Young Theatre stage while featuring soloists Stephanie Sikora, soprano and Brian Keith Johnson, baritone. A German Requiem, To Words of the Holy Scriptures, Op. 45 (Ein deutsches Requiem, nach Worten der heiligen Schrift) was composed by Brahms between 1865 and 1868. Many believe the piece was inspired by the death of Brahms' mother in 1865 which caused him much grief as well as lingering feelings over Robert Schumann's death in 1856. Comprised of seven movements and in the German language derived from the German Luther Bible, Brahms Requiem is a sacred but non-liturgical work with a message of hope for the living who must deal with and accept death.

Dr. Blackley, Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Ashland University, has previously presented several large choral and orchestral works including Handel’s Messiah in 2005 and 2010 while also collaborating with the Ashland Symphony Orchestra's performances of Carmina Burana, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Mendelssohn’s Elijah and the Verdi Requiem. While conducting the University Choir, Chamber Singers and Ashland Area Chorus, he also teaches in the areas of conducting and music education. He co-directs the major opera workshop productions and has served as conductor and music director for several Ashland University theatrical productions.

Stephanie Sikora, Professor of Music and Head of the Voice Area at Ashland University, has been sharing her musical talents with audiences throughout Ohio and the Midwest for numerous years. She has sung over 100 performances with Cleveland Opera on Tour, and has appeared in Cleveland Opera’s main stage productions of The Merry Widow, Hansel and Gretel, Mikado, and Die Fledermaus. She has been a guest soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom Festival and has performed with the Reading Symphony, Canton Symphony, Mendelssohn of Pittsburgh, Ashland Symphony, Akron Lyric Opera Theatre, Firelands Symphony, The Singers’ Club and the Robert Page Cleveland Singers. Holding degrees from The Ohio State University, The University of Akron, and the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, Ms. Sikora has recently become sought after as an adjudicator at such prestigious competitions as the Tuesday Musical Scholarship Auditions and the Irma M. Cooper Opera Columbus Vocal Competition.

Brian Keith Johnson has performed many roles in opera from Figaro in il barbiere di Siviglia to Ford in Falstaff. As a member of Actors’ Equity Association, he has also performed a variety of musical theatre roles ranging from Jim in Big River to Father/God in Children of Eden. He has appeared as a soloist with orchestras across the US in repertoire that ranges from Bach's Magnificat and Mozart's Requiem to Brahms's A German Requiem and Orff's Carmina Burana. Mr. Johnson received his bachelor's degree from the University of Akron, and has also studied abroad at the New Opera Academy of Rome and at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria.  

Reserved seating tickets for the performance are $7.00 for adults; $5.00 for senior citizens, non-Ashland University students, Ashland University faculty and staff; and $1.00 for Ashland University students. To purchase tickets, call the Ashland University Central Box Office at 419-289-5125, Monday through Friday, 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM., visit the Box Office located in the lobby of Hugo Young Theatre at the corner of Grant Street and College Avenue, or order online at www.ashland.edu/tickets (additional fees apply).

UNIVERSITY OFFERS TWO FUN EVENINGS OF OPERA SCENES

Ashland University Department of Music presents two evenings of "Magic, Marriage & Merriment" with opera scenes from Mikado to The Pirates of Penzance and The Most Happy Fella. The performances which are free and open to the public are scheduled for Friday and Saturday, April 19 and 20, 7:30 p.m. at the Elizabeth Pastor Recital Hall. 

Under the direction of Stephanie Sikora, Associate Professor of Music and Head of the Voice Area in the Department of Music at Ashland University, this annual event features vocal performances from twelve student singers. The female cast includes sopranos Rachel Gollhart, Fatima Imani Smith, Erin Lingenfelter, Colleen Mathias and Katie Vargo along with mezzo-sopranos Emily Plank and Grace Keller. Male singers include tenors Derek Jackenheimer, Christopher Sherer and Caleb Stout; baritone Andrew Shaffer; and bass-baritone Bret Cowden. 

With scenes from eight different operas each evening, the program presents scenes from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, The Magic Flute and Abduction from the Seraglio, Lehar's The Merry Widow, Strauss' Die Fledermaus, Loesser's The Most Happy Fella and Gilbert & Sullivan's Mikado and The Pirates of Penzance.

AU VOCALISTS WIN AT OHIO NATS COMPETITION

Several Ashland University voice students were award winners at the Ohio NATS (National Association of teachers of Singing) competition held April 6, 2013 at Kent State University.  With over 300 performers and their voice teachers attending, all participating students performed before judges and received comments regarding their singing. At the awards presentation, Ashland University's name was called out three times:

• Johanna Regan, student of Stephanie Sikora - 2nd place, Upper College Musical Theatre category 1
• Katie Mounts, student of Denise Howell  - 2nd place,Upper College Musical Theatre category 2
• Fatima Imani Smith, student of Stephanie Sikora - 1st place, Freshmen College Women Category II

FEBRUARY'S SENIOR RECITALS FEATURE A FLUTIST, A BARITONE AND A TENOR

The Department of Music at Ashland University presents three senior recitals in February featuring a flutist, a baritone and a tenor. All of the recitals are free and open to the public and are held in the Elizabeth Pastor Recital Hall in the Center for the Arts (formerly known as the Arts & Humanities Building).

Flutist Lisa Mongiardo begins the February senior recitals on Sunday, February 10 at 3:00 p.m. She will be accompanied by pianist Susan Gregg for her program including music by Handel, Bloch, Colquhoun and Godard. She is a music education major from Collins, Ohio, a graduate of Edison High School and studies privately with flute instructor Jane Berkner. 

At 5:00 p.m. on February 10, baritone Bret O. Cowden will be accompanied by pianist Pavlina Draganova. Bret will perform pieces from Handel, Mozart and Beethoven to Rodgers & Hammerstein. He is a music major with a theatre minor and studies privately with Voice Professor Stephanie Sikora. He is a graduate of United Local High School and is from Paris, Ohio. 

Tenor Derek Jackenheimer presents his senior recital on Sunday, February 24 at 7:30 p.m. Derek is a resident of Ashland and graduate of Ashland High School. He is a music education major and studies privately with vocal instructor Denise Howell. He will be accompanied by pianist Deb Logan.

VOCAL GROUPS PRESENT SPRING CONCERTS FROM GERSHWIN TO MAROON 5

The Ashland University Department of Music presents its final choral concert of the year featuring three vocal groups performing popular favorites from Gershwin to James Taylor and Stevie Wonder on Sunday, April 29, 4:00 p.m. at the Jack and Deb Miller Chapel.  The concert features the Ashland University Chamber Singers, Women's Chorus and is free and open to the public.

Under the direction of Stephanie Sikora with assistance by pianist Holly Allan and a jazz combo with D R Haught, Ben Schnell and Aaron Hill, the Women's Chorus will perform Pat Ballard's 1954 Billboard chart hit Mister Sandman, Bobby Darin's classic hit Beyond the Sea as arranged by Holly Allan, Rsephanye Powell's spiritual Still I Rise, and Ron Jeffers I Have Had Singing. The Women's Chorus also will feature senior members Alaina Bosak, Helena Marshall, Laura Huntington, and Lindsay Hartke on the Gershwin for Girls Medley.

The Chamber Singers, directed by Rowland Blackley, will present Gene Puerling's arrangement of A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square which was made famous by the Manhattan Transfer, James Taylor's Lonesome Road, Icarus by Ralph Tower, and Ysaye Barnwell's Wanting Memories.

The concert will also introduce the student-led a capella ensemble Surround Sound as they perform three popular songs including Neil Diamond's I'm a Believer, Stevie Wonder's Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours, and This Love as performed by Maroon 5.  

Surround Sound also will present a late evening concert with an extended program on Sunday, April 29, 8:30 p.m. in the Elizabeth Pastor Recital Hall. The concert is free and open to the public.

The 10-member ensemble will present a program of Billboard chart hits and an original composition which have been arranged for a capella by Deke Sharon or Surround Sounds' Brandy Riha. Songs to be performed include Stevie Wonder's Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours, Natasha Bedingfield's Unwritten, Neil Diamond's I'm a Believer as performed by The Monkeys, I'm Yours/You Belong with Me as performed by Jason Mraz and Taylor Swift, This Love as performed by Maroon 5, I Want You Back as performed by The Jackson 5, and Precipitation, an original song by Brandy Kay Riha and Kirstan Orgel. 

Performers in Surround Sound are Adam Stuart Beckwith (Vermilion High School, Vermilion, Ohio); Julie Bontempo (North Olmsted High School, North Olmstead, Ohio); Michael Kahle (Pandora-Gilboa High School, Pandora, Ohio); Brandy Riha (Geneva High School, Geneva, Ohio); Emily Springer (River Valley High School, Marion, Ohio); Caleb Stout (North Adams High School, Winchester, Ohio); John Fielding (Glen Oak High School, Canton, Ohio); Marisa Carafelli, Don Haught and Andrew Shaffer (Wooster High School, Wooster, Ohio).

UNIVERSITY OFFERS TWO FUN EVENINGS OF OPERA SCENES

Ashland University Department of Music presents two evenings of music, romance and fun with opera scenes from The Magic Flute to The Marriage of Figaro and La Traviata.  The performances which are free and open to the public are scheduled for Friday and Saturday, April 13 and 14, 7:30 p.m. at the Elizabeth Pastor Recital Hall.

Under the direction of Stephanie Sikora, Professor of Music and Head of the Voice Area in the Department of Music at Ashland University, this annual event features vocal performances from fifteen student singers. The female cast includes sopranos Jessica Blake, Chanae Curtis, Rachel Gollhart, Kara Minton, Brandy Riha and Katie Vargo along with mezzo-soprano Susie Strobel.  Male singers include tenors Jordan Black, Derek Jackenheimer, Chris Sherer and Caleb Stout; baritones Christopher Goffos and Andrew Shaffer; and bass-baritones Bret Cowden and John Fielding.

With scenes from six different operas each evening, the program presents scenes from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and The Magic Flute, Donizetti’s Elixir of Love, Strauss' Die Fledermaus, Lehar's The Merry Widow and Verdi's La Traviata. 

THREE CHOIRS PERFORMING AT SPRING CONCERT

Ashland University Department of Music presents a spring choral concert featuring the Ashland University Choir, Chamber Singers and Women’s Chorus on Sunday, March 25, 4:00 p.m. at the  Jack and Deb Miller Chapel.  The performance is free and open to the public.

Directed by Stephanie Sikora with Holly Allan accompanying on piano, the Ashland University Women’s Chorus will perform Thomas Morley's "Fire, fire, my heart," Eric Rahoon's "She Weeps Over Rahoon" with Margaret Rickard assisting on English horn, the French Canadian lilting piece, "Reel a Bouche," with solos performed by Courtney Patton, Courtney McCreary, Elizabeth Papantonio, Danielle Rhonemus, Jennifer Holderman, Kelsey Myers, Susanna Strobel and Laura Huntington, and Joseph Martin's "The Awakening."

Under the direction of Rowland Blackley, the Ashland University Choir will be accompanied by bells and Timothy Guenther on organ for Charles Ives' "Psalm 90." Their pieces will also include Heinrich Schütz's "Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt" (For God so loved the world), Charles Villiers Stanford's Beati quorum via (Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord), the Scottish folk song "Loch Lomond" arranged by Jonathan Quick, and John Rutter's arrangement of the English folk song "Dashing Away with the Smoothing Iron."

The Ashland University Chamber Singers also directed by Dr. Blackley will present Romantic part songs by Stanford, MacFarran and Sir Arthur Sullivan; two madrigals by twentieth-century composer George Mabry and  Mozart's "Eine kleine Nachtmusik."

JUNIOR VOICE MAJOR BRET COWDEN RECEIVES RECOGNITION FOR TALENT

Ashland University Department of Music congratulates junior, voice-performance major Bret Cowden (United Local High School, Hanoverton, Ohio) for recent achievements based on his talent.  

In Akron Tuesday Musical Association's annual competition, Cowden was awarded second place in the voice area.  This scholarship program is widely recognized as one of the best in Northeastern Ohio. Since its inception in 1955, nearly 500 scholarships have been awarded in categories of voice, piano, strings, woodwinds, brass, organ and music education.

Bret also auditioned and was selected to participate in this summer's Johanna Meier Opera Theatre Institute in Spearfish, South Dakota.  Now in its fourteenth year, the institute selected 20 to 25 aspiring pre-professional opera singers from all over the United States and Canada for this unusual two-week program. Students are assigned roles in April and are asked to memorize their roles before arriving in South Dakota. World famous operatic soprano Johanna Meier is the artistic director, and the stage director is Bruce Donnell of the Metropolitan Opera and the Santa Fe Opera. Operatic conductor John Stewart is a former leading tenor at the Metropolitan Opera and in Europe who recently retired from teaching voice and opera at the University of St. Louis. New York pianists Charis Dimaris and Elizabeth Hastings serve as vocal coaches and accompanists. Melanie Palm provides instruction in movement and dance. By working in an ensemble atmosphere, student camaraderie develops an important understanding of future rapport with colleagues, coaches, and those in charge of opera production.

Studying under voice professor Stephanie Sikora, Cowden will present his junior recital at Ashland University with fellow voice major Brandy Kay Riha on Thursday, March 29, 7:30 p.m. in the Elizabeth Pastor Recital Hall.  He also will appear in the music department's annual Opera Scenes performances on Friday and Saturday, April 13 and 14, 7:30 p.m. in the Recital Hall.  These events are free and open to the public.

COMMUNITY CONCERT BAND AND UNIVERSITY WIND ENSEMBLE PRESENT CONCERT WITH GUEST VOCALIST STEPHANIE SIKORA

The Ashland Area Community Concert Band (AACCB) and Ashland University Wind Ensemble present their annual Winter Festival Concert, under the direction Ashland University Director of Bands Leonard Salvo along with guest artist, soprano Stephanie Sikora, on Thursday, December 8, 7:30 p.m. at the University’s Hugo Young Theatre.  The concert is free and open to the public.

The 60-piece Wind Ensemble begins the concert with “A Festival Prelude” by Alfred Reed which opens with robust fanfares followed by a warm and melodic middle section then ending with a majestic processional march.  The ensemble continues with “Ghost Train” by Eric Whitacre, one of the most popular and performed composers of our generation.  This first movement of the three movement tone poem “Ghost Train Triptych” depicts a supernatural machine that roars out of the night through forgotten towns and empty canyons. The music’s eerie sounds and driving rhythms beautifully captures the supernatural spirit combined with the essence of a steaming locomotive.  The third piece of the program, “Perthshire Majesty” by Samuel Hazo, is a lush Scottish ballad which won the 2003 National Band Association’s Revelli Memorial Composition Contest.  Closing the first half of the concert, the Wind Ensemble performs Reber Clark’s “Hymn of St. James” which is a composition for band based on the hymn “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence.”

After a brief intermission, the Ashland Area Community Concert Band begins their program with “Fanatic Winds,” a lively concert work with a youthful character by English composer Thomas Doss; followed by two movements of Clare Grundman’s exquisite symphonic settings of four beloved English folk tunes in “English Suite;”  and James Swearingen’s “The Light Eternal”, a dramatic and emotional work based on the hymn “God of Our Fathers” that tells the story of the S.S. Dorchester that sank off the coast of Greenland.  Soprano Stephanie Sikora then takes the stage with the Concert Band to perform Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim’s “Tonight” from the American musical “West Side Story.” The concert closes with Robert Sheldon’s “A Most Wonderful Christmas” which includes some of the most popular Christmas selections of all time such as “Winter Wonderland,” “I’ll be Home for Christmas,” and “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town.”

Stephanie Sikora is currently in her nineteenth year as head of the voice area in the Department of Music at Ashland University. She has sung over 100 performances with Cleveland Opera on Tour, as well as appeared in main stage productions with Cleveland Opera, and as a guest soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom Festival. Additional credits include performances with the Reading Symphony, Canton Symphony, Mendelssohn of Pittsburgh, Ashland Symphony, Akron Lyric Opera Theatre, Firelands Symphony, The Singers’ Club, and fourteen years as a member and frequent soloist with the Robert Page Cleveland Singers.