Salvatore Champagne, Director Voice: Kendra Colton Daune Mahy Lorraine Manz Julien Robbins Marlene Ralis Rosen Opera Theater: Jonathon Field Alan Montgomery Vocal Accompanying and Coaching: Philip Highfill • Audition Requirements • Otto B Schoepfle Vocal Arts Laboratory • Opera Theater • Theater and Dance, Opera Theater and Artist Recital Series Calendar • SESSIONS: Welcome to the Otto B. Schoepfle Vocal Arts Center Richard Miller, Director • Marilyn Horne in Residence as Distinguished Professor of Voice •Professor of Singing Richard Miller Receives Excellence in Teaching Award • Soprano Alyson Cambridge '02 Wins Metropolitan Opera National Audition		A scene from Oberlin Opera Theater's spring '03 production of Alcina CURRICULA Every year, between 20 and 30 gifted singers enter degree programs in the Conservatory of Music. Taught by faculty members with impressive performance and pedagogical attainments, these students take courses covering technique, performance readiness, musicianship, musical style, and linguistic accuracy. All students take weekly private lessons with a major teacher and participate in studio classes. PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITIES The Oberlin Opera Theater, an important part of the voice program, provides training in all aspects of opera theater. Two major productions with orchestra are presented each year, and a small-scale opera is usually produced during winter term. Weekly classes cover: fundamentals of acting for singers, emphasizing techniques of body movement through exercise and pantomime preparation of opera scenes character development, with emphasis on learning period styles and acting techniques unique to opera opera stage direction and stage management. Students interested in direction or management may also take courses in directing, stage management, costume design, stage design, theater sound, and theater management offered by the theater and dance program in the College of Arts and Sciences. Students enrolled in various opera classes also perform in a program of opera scenes presented each semester. Special programs are sometimes presented off campus, most recently at the National Opera Association Convention in Columbus, Ohio. A scene from Oberlin Opera Theater's fall '01 production of Die Fledermaus Other performance opportunities include oratorio, lieder, art song, contemporary and early music literatures, and choral music. Among the student ensembles of interest to voice students are the Oberlin College Choir, the Musical Union, and the Collegium Musicum. Voice students also appear regularly in student recitals and present major recitals during their junior and senior years. VOCAL ARTS LABORATORY Students can monitor their progress as vocalists using the scientific instrumentation in the Otto B. Schoepfle Vocal Arts Laboratory, the first laboratory of its kind to be incorporated into a program of vocal instruction in the United States. Named for a long-time supporter of the Conservatory, this laboratory includes stroboscopic and fiber-optic instrumention that can display four types of vocal analyses concurrently, allowing examination of both the function and the timbre of the artistic singing voice. Students use the sophisticated audio and video equipment to record, play back, and analyze their performances. The laboratory also houses: a sonagraph workstation that transforms the phonations of the voice into electrical signals and displays them as waves on a computer screen a computerized system for analyzing, synthesizing, and manipulating vocal sounds a nasometer, which measures nasality in the voice a laryngograph, which determines the accuracy of pitch and vocal onset a spirometer, which tests critical pulmonary functions to determine vital capacity and flow rate and a system to measure levels of air flow, air pressure, and sound pressure. ACCOLADES Voice students consistently place in the finals and semifinals in Metropolitan Opera regional and district auditions. They frequently win civic symphony awards and national competitions. A number of voice students are selected each year to participate in apprenticeship programs such as those sponsored by the Houston, Santa Fe, Minnesota, Michigan, Merola, Zurich, and Metropolitan operas. A scene from Oberlin Opera Theater's spring '02 production of The Rake's Progress GUEST PERFORMERS Through the Artist Recital Series, voice students have the opportunity to hear performances by some of the world's foremost vocalists. The series generally includes one concert each year featuring a vocal artist. In recent years, the series has featured the King's Singers, a male vocal sextet from England; sopranos Arleen Auger, Marvis Martin, and Benita Valente; bass James Morris; and baritone Thomas Hampson. The Conservatory also sponsors brief residencies and master classes, giving students opportunities to work closely with noted musicians. Recent guests have included Derek Lee Ragin '80, Reri Grist, and John Wustman.