August 1, 1997
German for Singers Presents The Finale Concert
The Middlebury College Language Schools’ German for Singers program
will present The Finale Concert on Sunday, August 10, at 8:00
p.m. in the Concert Hall of the Middlebury College Center for
the Arts. The Finale Concert, an evening of solo and ensemble
works featuring the individual and collective achievements of
each singer in the German for Singers program, will include songs
from Brahms, Schumann, Schubert, duets by Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel,
operas and arias by Mozart, and a portion of Brahms’ Liebesleider
Walzer.
The singers are participants in the German for Singers program,
a special course of study designed by the German School, one of
the eight summer session schools offered by the Middlebury College
Language Schools. German for Singers integrates the study of the
German language, literature, and culture with music history, vocal
pedagogy, and performance. The program provides individualized
career preparation for young singers with professional ambitions.
Lectures and master classes, private coaching, and individual
tutoring complement formal classroom instruction. In a carefully
structured, total-immersion environment, students gain the skills
and confidence required to become singing artists with German
language proficiency and insight into the vocal repertoire of
German-speaking cultures.
During this summer’s seven-week program, lectures and master classes
were offered by Professor Emerita Louise McClelland Urban of the
University of Maryland, who holds a Culture Medallion from the
International Hugo Wolf Society in Austria; Maestro Joseph Colaneri
of the National Touring Company in New York; and Professor of
Music Dr. James McDonald of Indiana University. German for Singers
is directed by Dr. Brenda Smith, coordinator of Musical Activities
at the German School at Middlebury, and director of Vocal Studies
at Manatee Community College, Florida.
The Finale Concert is the German for Singers’ third performance
this year. Earlier in the summer, the group performed a chamber
music concert on the Middlebury campus, and again at the Trapp
Family Lodge in Stowe. Maria von Trapp attended the Stowe performance,
and was enthusiastic about the concert. While personally giving
the singers a tour of the Trapp Family grounds after the show,
Mrs. Von Trapp told the group “This is real music.”
The Finale Concert is free and open to the public. For more information,
call 802-443-5510.