Friday, January 18, 2019
at 7:30 PM
Paula Rockwell (mezzo soprano)
with
Jennifer King (piano)
Youth performer at start of
concert: Alistair Maksym
Since returning to Nova Scotia, after completing her graduate studies at University of Toronto, Paula Rockwell has been steeped in musical projects, performances and music festivals in her home province, Canada and the US. She teaches Voice, Diction for Singers, Scene Studies and the Singing Actor at her alma mater Acadia University and creates productions for Acadia's Singing Theatre Ensemble where she is the artistic director. She has been featured on several recordings and co-
Paula has taken on several operatic roles since graduating from University of Toronto working with the Canadian Opera Company, Toronto's Opera in Concert, Vancouver Opera, Tidal Opera, Orchestre Baroque de Montreal, Opera Nova Scotia and Maritime Concert Opera. Her recent performances include the role of Baba the Turk in Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress with Opera Nova Scotia. She sang the role of Dulcinea in ONS's Informoperal in Massenet's Don Quichotte as well as Donna Elvira with Maritime Concert Opera's production of Mozart's Don Giovanni and Second Lady in Die Zauferflöte. She has performed with Symphony Nova Scotia, Chorus of Westery, RI, North York Philharmonic, ON, Symphony New Brunswick, Peterborough Singers, The Music Room Chamber Series in Halifax as well as for many fundraisers, including Music for Haiti, Women Only at Pier 21 and ONS's Opera Valentine. Paula is heard every summer giving masterclasses, vocal warm-
She adjudicates music festivals on the Provincial and National level and gives clinics/masterclasses on the topic of vocal pedagogy, interpretation and stage craft. Paula will be working on new projects including a recording of original works Under Wraps and a concert tour entitled Letters from Home; her sabbatical project in January 2015.
Recent projects include directing Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors, Scenes from Street Scenes by Kurt Weill, an opera excerpt show entitled The B Boys of Opera and this past November a musical theatre excerpt program entitled The Games People Play in Musicals: Chess & The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee for Acadia's Singing Theatre Ensemble, soloist with Acadia University's Choral production of Mozart's Coronation Mass and Beethoven's Choral Fantasy. She also was the vocal coach for Halifax Summer Opera Workshop productions of Bizet's Carmen and Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro. She sang the alto solo in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with Symphony New Brunswick in May 2014 and performed with the Halifax based contemporary music group, Musikon at the Saint Mary's Art Gallery.
Learn more at http://paularockwell.com/
Jennifer King - Piano
Energetic and insightful, Jennifer King is a versatile pianist who is equally at home on the concert stage, in the classroom and teaching studio. She is in high demand as an adjudicator, coach, and clinician and has firmly established herself as a sought-
Jennifer worked as staff pianist and part time faculty member at Acadia University's School of Music from 2003. She currently works as a private piano instructor, coach and free-
Ms. King holds a Masters of Music degree in solo piano performance from McGill University, postgraduate diplomas from the University of Reading in the UK as well as the Royal Academy of Music in London, England. Her accolades include two scholarships from the Nova Scotia Talent Trust, and an Award of Appreciation from the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia in recognition of her contributions to musical life in the province. Recently Jennifer performed outside for 6 hours on the Halifax waterfront with artist Holly Carr for Nocturne Art at Night Festival. She has released her first solo recording of all night inspired music -