Contact: Sasha Steinberg
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Three Mississippi State music department faculty members will perform together for the first time during a Sunday [Oct. 12] recital at the Robert and Freda Harrison Auditorium in Giles Hall.
Free and open to the public, the 3 p.m. performance by lecturer Jeanette Fontaine, instructor and departmental accompanist Karen Murphy, and associate professor Michael Patilla will feature a diverse, entertaining selection of music, including Spanish songs with guitar, romantic German Lieder, classic Broadway tunes, and French operetta.
"I plan to talk between some of the musical numbers to give the audience interesting information about the music and make the atmosphere a little more informal," says mezzo-soprano Fontaine, adding that the program has been designed to be enjoyable for individuals of all ages.
A recent doctorate of musical arts graduate of the University of Alabama, Fontaine also holds bachelor's and master's degrees in vocal performance from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.
In addition to serving as an instructor of undergraduate voice classes, she has experience in teaching French, Italian and Russian diction. Having performed numerous operatic roles, she also serves as co-instructor of opera workshop with assistant professor Tara Warfield.
Being named a semi-finalist in the 2011 Opera Birmingham Competition, finalist in the National Opera Association's 2010 Opera Scenes Competition, and encouragement award winner at the 2003 Metropolitan Opera National Council District Auditions are among Fontaine's other accomplishments.
Murphy, creator and coordinator of the university's first collaborative piano course, received her bachelor's in piano performance from Indiana University, master's in piano accompanying from Arizona State University, as well as doctoral degree in collaborative piano from University of Minnesota.
Choirmaster and music director at Starkville's Church of the Resurrection, she plays frequently for National Association of Teachers of Singing state and regional voice auditions. She has also served as collaborative pianist and vocal coach for the Festival Internacional de Música de Campina Grande in Brazil.
In addition to teaching responsibilities, Patilla serves as guitar program director for The MasterWorks Festival, an international performing arts festival held each summer in Winona Lake, Indiana.
He also has performed as concerto soloist with the Alabama Symphony, Eastman Chamber, MasterWorks Festival, Red Mountain Chamber and Starkville-MSU Symphony orchestras, and Orquesta Filarmónia de Honduras.
Patilla is a music graduate of University of Montevallo (Alabama) who went on to complete a doctorate in musical arts from the prestigious Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester.
Learn more about the music department at www.music.msstate.edu, www.facebook.com/pages/Mississippi-State-University-Department-of-Music/... and www.twitter.com/mstatemusic.
Complete details about MSU may be viewed at www.msstate.edu, www.facebook.com/msstate, www.instagram.com/msstate, and www.twitter.com/msstate.