Vocal Arts and Music Festival Kicks Off at Virginia Tech

Seventy opera coaches, vocalists, and musicians from across the globe will present two weeks of performances and masterclasses in Blacksburg as part of the Vocal Arts and Music Festival at Virginia Tech.

Presented by the Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech, the festival, which was known last year as Viva Virginia, is one of the three International Vocal Arts Institute (IVAI) programs; the other two are in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Montreal.

The following is the Vocal Arts and Music Festival performance and events schedule. Please note that specific repertoire is subject to change.
Performance and events schedule
Vocal Arts and Music Festival Opening Night
The festival launches with a blend of instrumental and vocal music from Chausson, Dohnányi, and others featuring guest instrumentalists, select institute singers, and special guest Virginia Tech alumna Danielle Talamantes.
Saturday, June 18, 8 p.m.
Squires Recital Salon
$20 adults/$10 students, children under 18
Film "La Boheme"
Joan Dornemann provides a behind-the-scenes look at the making of this 1982 film of the Metropolitan Opera's production of "La Boheme," to accompany the screening of the movie.
Monday, June 20, 7:30 p.m.
The Lyric Theatre
$5 for everyone
Masterclass with Sherrill Milnes
Join legendary baritone Sherrill Milnes as he coaches the next generation of opera stars, sharing wisdom and wit gained throughout his extensive international career.
Tuesday, June 21, 7 p.m.
Squires Recital Salon
$5 adults/$3 students, children under 18
Masterclass with Joan Dornemann
Join Joan Dornemann, assistant conductor of the Metropolitan Opera and co-founder of the International Vocal Arts Institute, as she leads an insightful masterclass with IVAI singers.
Wednesday, June 22, 7 p.m.
Squires Recital Salon
$5 adults/$3 students, children under 18
Music of Dvo?ák
The program features instrumental and vocal music of Antonin Leopold Dvo?ák (Czech, 1841-1904) including "Romantic Pieces for Violin and Piano" and Selections from the "Cypress" love songs.
Thursday, June 23, 8 p.m.
Squires Recital Salon
$20 adults/$10 students, children under 18
Music of Mozart and Strauss
Selections from the most famous operas of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Austrian, 1756-1791) and Richard Strauss (German, 1864-1949) provide rich textures and showcase the diverse range of the IVAI singers.
Friday, June 24, 8 p.m.
Squires Recital Salon
$20 adults/$10 students, children under 18
Music of Poulenc and Ravel
This evening is devoted to the works of Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (French, 1899-1963) and Joseph-Maurice Ravel (French, 1875-1937), including Poulenc's short operatic pieces, "Le Bal Masque" and "Le Bestiaire."
Saturday, June 25, 8 p.m.
Squires Recital Salon
$20 adults/$10 students, children under 18
Instrumental Program
The program features acclaimed musicians from across the globe and highlighted vocalists performing Barber's "Dover Beach," music from Benjamin Britten, Antonin Dvo?ák, and others.
Sunday, June 26, 7 p.m.
Squires Recital Salon
$20 adults/$10 students, children under 18
American Songbook: The American Musical
The American Songbook program features the best American songs of the 20th century, principally from Broadway theatre and musical theatre of the past 100 years.
Monday, June 27, 8 p.m.
Squires Recital Salon
$20 adults/$10 students, children under 18
Latin Days, American Nights
Featuring Steven Blier, New York Festival of Song's Artistic Director
An evening of songs by American composers ranging from Samuel Barber, George Gershwin, and Cole Porter to Tom Waits and Thelonious Monk, paired with their Latin counterparts from Argentina and Cuba.
Tuesday, June 28, 8 p.m.
Squires Recital Salon
$20 adults/$10 students, children under 18
Music of Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert (Austrian, 1797-1828) is celebrated in this program that includes lieder, vocal quartets, "Shepherd on the Rock," and cello quintet.
Wednesday, June 29, 8 p.m.
Squires Recital Salon
$20 adults/$10 students, children under 18
Instrumental Program II
This program features instrumental and vocal selections of works from the early 20th century by Schoenberg, Respighi, and Prokofiev.
Thursday, June 30, 8 p.m.
Squires Recital Salon
$20 adults/$10 students, children under 18
Closing Celebration: Italian Opera
The program includes selections from Puccini, Verdi, Rossini, and all the best-loved Italian operas.
Friday, July 1, 8 p.m.
Squires Recital Salon
$20 adults/$10 students, children under 18

The festival will feature opera legends Mignon Dunn, Ruth Falcon, and Sherrill Milnes, who, along with a team of vocal coaches, will spend two weeks working closely with a group of up-and-coming vocal stars. The coaches will help the vocalists fine-tune their craft, providing instruction on how to improve technique, nurture voice development, and properly prepare for performances. The coaches and singers will be joined by piano accompanists and instrumentalists who have performed with orchestras and chamber music ensembles throughout the world.

The vocalists were handpicked by International Vocal Arts Institute founders Joan Dornemann and Paul Nadler, both of the Metropolitan Opera, to participate in the Vocal Arts and Music Festival. They will be immersed in rigorous training sessions and rehearsals with the opera legends and coaches during the day and perform in special performances accompanied by the instrumentalists and pianists each night of the festival. The instrumentalists will also mentor three student chamber ensembles and will be featured throughout performances during the festival.

Tickets
Tickets are available online, at the information desk in Squires Student Center, at 540-231-3466 or 540-231-5615, and at the door. Tickets may be purchased individually; discounted Vocal Arts and Music Festival Passports are also available. Passports are $170 for adults and $90 for students and children under 18; to purchase passports, please call 540-231-5615.

Through a comprehensive arts initiative, Virginia Tech has made a strong commitment to the arts on campus and in the surrounding communities. The cornerstone of the initiative is the $94 million Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech. Opening in late 2013, the Center for the Arts will include a 1,260-seat, state-of-the-art performance hall for music, theatre, and dance performance and visual arts galleries for traditional, digital, and new media exhibitions. It also will house the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology, an applied research environment wherein researchers from multiple disciplines, artists, and educators collaborate to develop new processes and tools to enhance teaching and learning in PK-12 and higher education environments with an emphasis on math, science, social studies, and language arts.

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