ISSUED: 24 October 2016
MEDIA CONTACT: Valerie Owens
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — Shepherd University’s Masterworks Chorale, under the direction of Dr. Rachel Carlson, assistant professor of music, will present two Baroque favorites, Vivaldi’s “Gloria” and Bach’s “Magnificat,” on Saturday, November 5, at 8 p.m. in the Frank Center Theater. This production will feature a full orchestra and solos by mezzo-soprano Melanie Regan, adjunct music professor, and baritone Dr. Rob Tudor, associate professor of music and chair of the Department of Music, as well as solos by some Shepherd vocal students.
Regan has performed as the mezzo-soprano soloist in the Rossini “Stabat Mater,” the Mozart Mass in C, the Bach “Magnificat,” the Vivaldi “Gloria,” and Mozart’s “Requiem,” among others. She has studied and sung with teachers such as Frederica Von Stade, Steven Rainbolt, Ruth Drucker, and John Shirley-Quirk. In addition to teaching at Shepherd and directing the opera workshop, Regan maintains a full voice studio at Saint James School in Hagerstown, Maryland, where she is stage director for the school’s annual spring musical, runs the Saint James Girl’s A Capella group, and provides assistance for a wide range of activities within the department.
Tudor’s career has included work as a professional singer, educator, and nonprofit executive. As a singer, he has been praised by the Washington Post for his “powerful singing voice” and “notable acting skills.” He has performed opera, musical theater, cabaret, and concert works throughout the United States. Tudor is a regular guest artist with the Montana Early Music Festival, and artist and instructor at the annual Helena Choral Festival in Montana. In 2009, he joined soprano Rosa Lamoreaux, pianist Betty Bullock, and bassist David Jernigan for the first in a series of national concert engagements featuring classics from Broadway.
Carlson is director of choral activities at Shepherd and conductor of the Shepherd University Chamber Singers, Women’s Camerata, and Masterworks Chorale. Carlson founded and serves as artistic director of Six Degree Singers, a community choir based in Silver Spring, Maryland, and serves as assistant conductor of the Washington Master Chorale. In 2014, Carlson was nominated for a Wammie (Washington Area Music Award) for best Classical Conductor/ Director. Carlson has toured extensively with professional choirs across the country, appearing as a soprano soloist with the Washington Master Chorale, Washington Bach Consort, Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Oregon Bach Festival, True Concord Voices and Orchestra, Vox Humana, and Washington Revels, and as a professional choral singer with Conspirare and the Manhattan Chorale.
Featured Shepherd University voice students are Samuel Bower, Middletown, Maryland; Keira Fletcher, Martinsburg; Grace Guiney, Harpers Ferry; Carol Niedringhaus, Frederick, Maryland; Tamira Patterson, Westminster, Maryland; Stephanie Proctor, Chantilly, Virginia; Ashley Propst, Kearneysville; Bethany Przybocki, Haymarket, Virginia; and Alexandra Rosle, Harleysville, Pennsylvania.
The Masterworks Chorale is a vocal ensemble with more than 100 members and is comprised of Shepherd University vocal students and members from the surrounding community. The Chorale presents two full-length concerts per year of great masterpieces from the choral literature.
General admission for “Gloria” and “Magnificat” is $15; $10 for faculty, staff, Shepherd alumni, senior citizens, and students 18 and under; and free for Shepherd students with a valid Rambler ID. Admission and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis and there are no advance sales or reservations. The box office opens one hour prior to performance. For information, call 304-876-5555 or visit www.shepherd.edu/music.
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