The 2010-2011 Performing Arts Series begins at Armstrong Auditorium with the Herbert W. Armstrong College choral union presenting an encore performance of Elijah, by Felix Mendelssohn.

Reviews:

"'Never was there a more complete triumph—never a more thorough and speedy recognition of a great work of art.' So reported The Times of London after Elijah’s premiere on August 26, 1846. Its overwhelming success was of the sort a composer could only pray for—on the surface, another confirmation of the widespread myth of Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) as a happy exception to the misunderstood, maladjusted artist. No less prominent a figure than Prince Albert pronounced him 'a second Elijah.'”—notes by Thomas May, Los Angeles Master Chorale at Walt Disney Theater

"Grogan supplied a rich but firmly focused bass ..."—Dallas Morning News

"Grogan lends a powerful air of gravitas with his rich, deep baritone ...which came off with considerable majesty."—Albuquerque Journal


David Grogan (Elijah), baritone, has passed his dissertation defense at the University of North Texas, and will graduate with his DMA in the Spring. Before starting this degree program, he worked for three years as instructor of voice and vocal pedagogy at East Texas Baptist University in Marshall, Texas. Currently an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, he has performed extensively throughout Texas and New Mexico, getting positive reviews in local papers. The Dallas Morning News hailed Grogan as the “perfect Christus” after a performance of the St. Matthew Passion with the Dallas Bach Society. The Albuquerque Tribune, in reference to a performance of Messiah with the New Mexico Symphony, said, “David Grogan had all the range and power required of the part, sounding like the voice of doom in ‘The people that walked in darkness’ and the light of revelation in ‘The trumpet shall sound.’ A recent performance of Elijah had critics praising his ability to “move easily from stentorian declamation to lyrical aria.” He has performed as a soloist with Dallas area arts groups such as the Dallas Bach Society, Texas Baroque Ensemble, Orpheus Chamber Singers, Mesquite Civic Chorus, the Dallas-based Allegro Artists, and several Texas universities. Recent performances include Elijah with the New Mexico Symphony, Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Arlington Master Chorale, and the St. John Passion with the Dallas Bach Society. Teaching is one of Grogan’s favorite activities, whether it is voice, choir, or whatever subject is at hand.

 

Lyric tenor James Doing (Obadiah) has worked extensively in stage, radio, television, and recording productions, maintaining an active and multi-faceted career. While completing his studies at the University of Connecticut, he participated in the AGMA young artist apprenticeship programs at Lake George (1983) and Santa Fe (1984). From Santa Fe, he was invited to join the Netherlands Opera Studio to pursue further training and launch an international career in opera. In 1995, following 11 years in Holland, he returned to the U.S. to become Assistant Professor of Voice and Director of Opera at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He was appointed Assistant Professor of Voice at University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998 and promoted to Associate Professor in 2001. Doing specializes in the operas of Mozart and the concert music of the Baroque period, especially that of J.S. Bach. He has appeared at all three opera companies and every major orchestra in Holland, and has sung with opera companies elsewhere in Europe, including Paris, Brussels, Antwerp, and Stuttgart. Operatic engagements in the U.S. include the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Chicago Opera Theatre, Lyric Opera Cleveland, Glimmerglass Opera, Madison Opera, Florentine Opera (Milwaukee), Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and Santa Fe Opera. Doing's concert credits number nearly 100 as the Evangelist (with arias) in J.S. Bach's St. Matthew and St. John passions and frequent solo roles in George Frideric Handel’s Messiah. He made his debut with the Milwaukee Symphony in 1998 and with the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra and Bach Choir Holland in 1999. As a respected interpreter of 20th-century music, he has been invited to the Holland, South Bank, and Aldeburgh festivals, among many others. Since 1994, he has collaborated with the noted voice scientist Donald Miller (Voice Research Lab, Groningen, the Netherlands) on the application of visual feedback from real-time spectrum analysis and electroglottography in the instruction of voice. This collaboration has led to co-authorship of two articles. James Doing may be heard in choral, orchestral, and solo recordings on Accord, Nonesuch, Opera Rara/Marco Polo, 3M Nederland, and Evangeliums Rundfunk labels.

 

Paula Malone (Angel, Widow), soprano, graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Music, studying with Ann Harrell. She has performed such operatic roles as the Queen of the Night in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Gretel in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, Lucia di Lamermoor from Donizett’s opera of the same name, Christine in Yeston’s Phantom and Sophie from R. Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier. Her first love, however, is oratorio literature in which she has performed as soloist in Brahms’ A German Requiem, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Haydn’s Creation and Rutter’s Requiem. In 2006, she appeared in recital with Sara Sant’Ambrogio, cellist from the Eroica Trio. Malone has taught at the Univer­sity of Central Okla­homa and has been on the voice faculty of Herbert W. Armstrong College since its opening in fall 2001. She has also appeared extensively on inspirational Christian albums produced by the Philadelphia Church of God since 1996—appearing on ten albums and recording in a variety of styles including oratorio, Christian contemporary and folk ballads.

 

Pamela Williams (Angel), mezzo-soprano, a native of Atlanta, Georgia, appears frequently in recital and with orchestra in Chicago and throughout the Midwest and Southeast. She made her Chicago debut at Symphony Center’s Orchestra Hall as alto soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Apollo Singers. In recent years, she has sung with the Choral Union in Columbia, Mo., as the alto soloist in Mendelssohn’s Elijah and mezzo-soprano soloist in Durufle’s Requiem. Also in Columbia, she has performed as mezzo-soprano soloist in Verdi’s Requiem, as alto soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Columbia Chorale and 9th Street Symphony. In addition, Williams has performed as a soloist in various works with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, Fayette Chamber Orchestra, Missouri Chamber Orchestra, the Capitol City Chamber Players, and numerous other university and chamber orchestras. Williams also actively performs as a full-time member of the chorus at Lyric Opera of Chicago. At Lyric, she has had many opportunities to understudy and perform roles in Die Frau ohne Schatten, Turandot, Dialogues of the Carmelites, Der Rosenkavalier, Manon Lescaut, The Cunning Little Vixen and The Marriage of Figaro. At Opera Memphis, Quad City Mozart Festival, Nashville Opera, Natchez Opera Festival and the Indiana University Opera Theatre her repertoire has encompassed roles in operas of Mozart, Bizet, Offenbach, Humperdinck, Debussy, and Puccini. She has also toured with Lyric Opera of Chicago’s “Opera in the Neighborhoods” performances of The Magic Flute and also with the Madison, Wis., based “Opera for the Young” adaptation of Rusalka. Williams holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Georgia State University. She also studied at University of Missouri-Columbia and completed a Master of Music degree at Indiana University. She currently studies voice with Judith Haddon. Her world premieres include the song cycle A Life Filled With Flowers by Daniel Michalak and Sid Selvidge's children's opera RiverSongs in which she created the role of Gloriana.