Saturday, January 6, 2024

4:15pm-5:30pm

Christ Lutheran Church

595 Kapiolani Street, Hilo

What is bel canto? We often hear this term and have difficulty defining its meaning. Literally it means “beautiful singing”, but it also refers to a great era in the history of singing where singers were trained in a very specific, methodical way. During this lecture, we will learn about this history, the factors that contributed to its near disappearance, and how we can bring it back into the training of singers. Audience will hear live and audio examples and also have an opportunity to actively participate in exercises.

About:

American Soprano and Professor of Voice AMY SHOREMOUNT-OBRA is the Top Prize Winner of the 2018 Gerda Lissner Foundation International Vocal Competition Wagner Division, and made her Metropolitan Opera Debut in 2014 as First Lady in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte - a role she has performed at the Met sixteen times. Recent appearances include the title role in Turandot with Opera Grand Rapids, the title role of Salome at the Southern Illinois Music Festival,  Leonore in a workshop of Fidelio with the LA Philharmonic and a recital in Sweden with Pianist Christopher Cooley. Other recent appearances include appearances with Knoxville Opera, Odyssey Opera (Boston), NYC Opera, Annapolis Opera, Maryland Opera, Opera Las Vegas, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Spoleto Festival- Italy, Pacific Symphony, Erie Philharmonic, Varna International, Opera Orchestra of NY, National Chorale, Oregon Music Festival, Savannah Philharmonic, The Juilliard Orchestra, Adelphi Orchestra, NY Philharmonic, American Symphony Orchestra, and the Orquesta Filarmònica del estado de Chihuahua (MX). Ms. Shoremount-Obra appears as First Lady on the Metropolitan Opera's 2017 recording of Mozart's The Magic Flute featuring Hanna-Elisabeth Müller, Kathryn Lewek, Charles Castronovo and Nathan Gunn with Maestro Evan Rogister and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. She has appeared as a soloist at Carnegie Hall five times. Ms. Shoremount-Obra is a graduate of Manhattan School of Music (BM & MM) and The Juilliard School (AD Opera Studies). She was a full scholarship recipient while a student at Juilliard.

As a teaching professional, Ms. Shoremount-Obra was appointed Adjunct Assistant Professor of Voice at the Conservatory of Music at Brooklyn College (CUNY) in 2017 where she teaches both undergraduate and graduate vocal performance majors. She previously held an adjunct position as a professor of vocal methods at The College of New Jersey and several artist-in-residency positions at Lawrence Conservatory of Music (Wisconsin) and at the Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua in Mexico. She has given master classes and lectures -including her research on Manuel Garcia, breath support, and the first season of Italian Opera in NY and the arrival of western instrumental and vocal music in the Hawaii Islands - at Lawrence, the NJ Governor’s School of the Arts, the University of Tulsa, for the Pennsylvania Music Education Association, at the Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua and at additional various festivals and workshops throughout the United States. She is currently on faculty at the Varna International Music Academy (Myrtle Beach, SC & in Italy) - a premier training program for young opera singers - and has held previous positions with the Juilliard Nord-Anglia Summer Voice Program in Orlando, FL , the OperaTunity Voice Program with the Palm Springs Opera Guild in Palm Springs, CA and the AT Balance Arts Center Summer Intensive (NYC). She also maintains a private studio in both Manhattan and New Jersey.

Management: Lizzie Morgan at Keynote Artist Management UK www.keynoteartistmanagement.com Ms. Shoremount-Obra’s personal website is www.amyshoremount-obra.com .