Middlebury College’s German for Singers Group

to Perform Finale Concert on Aug. 8

On Saturday, Aug. 8 at 8 p.m. the German for Singers

program-a special component of the Middlebury College German School-will

present its second annual Finale Concert in the Concert Hall of

the Middlebury College Center for the Arts on South Main Street

(Route 30). The public is invited to this free event which will

be followed by a reception in the lobby.

Renowned violinist Hilary Hahn will be assisting

the German for Singers. Hahn has performed with the Philadelphia

Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, with the major orchestras of Berlin,

Paris, Munich, Rotterdam, and in recital throughout the United

States and Europe. The music for the evening includes opera arias,

duets, quartettes, and Lieder-German poems set to music-sung by

Alisa Grundmann, Aaron Guckian, Areli Miranda, Freya Pappas, Ethan

Sperry, and Jeanette Squires. Accompanying the singers on piano

is Helen Yorke, who has studied at the Royal Academy of Music,

coached at the Juillard School and the Manhattan School of Music,

and performed all over the world.

The concert, as well as the German for Singers program,

is directed by Brenda Smith, director of vocal studies at Manatee

Community College. Smith received a D.M.A. from the University

of Maryland. Ronald Burrichter, professor of music at Florida

University, teaches vocal performance for the German for Singers

program, and also performs with the group.

The German School introduced language immersion at

Middlebury more than 80 years ago. Since then, seven additional

schools have been added to Middlebury’s summer language session:

Arabic, Chinese, French, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish.

In 1997, the German School’s offerings expanded to

include the German for Singers program for the training, in German,

of young singers with professional ambitions. The program integrates

the study of German literature, culture, and language with music

history, vocal pedagogy, and performance.

For more information, contact the coordinator of

the German School, Lynn Lewis at (802) 443-5203.