Contact: Sasha Steinberg
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Quitman native William J. "Billy" Cotten is being honored next week as the Mississippi State music department's 2014 alumnus of the year.
Cotten now is in his 15th year on the faculty of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. Also a faculty member at the Boston Conservatory, the Brookline resident previously directed the voice division at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
During the Monday and Tuesday [Oct. 20 and 21] visit to the university, he will be working with music majors, faculty and administration, as well as observing and teaching voice and conducting classes.
Free and open to the public, Cotten's 7:30 p.m. presentation Tuesday in Giles Hall's Robert and Freda Harrison Auditorium will feature numerous recordings of soprano and Mississippi native Leontyne Price. Also free to all, a Tuesday reception for Cotten will take place in the same location immediately following his performance.
Now in its fourth year, the program administered by the MSU music department's recruiting and retention committee annually recognizes successful alumni who have made a positive impact on their field.
In addition to the Boston Opera and American Repertory theaters in Massachusetts, Cotten has performed with the Wolf Trap Opera Co., June Opera Festival of New Jersey, Augusta Opera, PepsiCo Summerfare and Boston Music Theatre Project.
Additionally, he has been a soloist with Chorus Pro Musica, Banchetto Musicale, Emmanuel Music, Indian Hill Orchestra, Monadnock Music, New Hampshire Symphony, Nashua Symphony Choral, Dartmouth Handel, and Hampshire Choral societies, along with the Greater Merrimack Valley and Swanhurst chorales.
Cotten, a tenor, took third-place honors in the Metropolitan Opera New England Regional Auditions and has served as a Tanglewood Music Center Fellow.
One of four generations in his family to have graduated from MSU, Cotten is an instrumental and vocal music education graduate who went on to complete a master's in vocal performance at the New England Conservatory.
Cotten said he felt "honored and very humbled" by the alumnus-of-the-year selection, adding, "This award is a validation of my decision to attend State, the work I did there, and the work I have done since, and it is also a great honor for my family."
Marching at football games, hanging out at the band hall and serving as squad leader and drum major for band camp are among the former Famous Maroon Band member's fondest campus memories.
"I am so proud of what the university has become, the history it represents and how beautiful the campus is," the longtime Clarke County resident said. "I would not be where I am today if I would not have attended Mississippi State."
For additional biographical information, see http://necmusic.edu/faculty/william-cotten?lid=1&sid=3.
For details about the MSU music alumnus of the year program, contact Tara Warfield, assistant professor of voice and voice area coordinator, at 662-325-3070 or tw308@msstate.edu. Additional music department information is found at www.music.msstate.edu, www.facebook.com/pages/Mississippi-State-University-Department-of-Music/... and www.twitter.com/mstatemusic.
MSU is online at www.msstate.edu, www.facebook.com/msstate, www.instagram.com/msstate, and www.twitter.com/msstate.