SUU MUSIC STUDENTS WIN HONORS AND SING WITH THE PROFESSIONALS (CC)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 09/02/11
Whitney Hershberger
Marketing and Public Relations Associate
College of Performing and Visual Arts
Southern Utah University
Office: 435-865-8667
cpvamktg@suu.edu

SUU MUSIC STUDENTS WIN HONORS
AND SING WITH THE PROFESSIONALS

Southern Utah University, Cedar City, Utah: This summer two of SUU’s accomplished vocal students participated in the first-annual Professional Choral Institute at the University of South Florida this summer. Geneil Perkins and Taliah Lee Johnson were awarded scholarships for their talented work. The two weeks spent with other college singers from across the country, finished with a professional recording of Brahms’ “Requiem” with Seraphic Fire an internationally acclaimed choir based out of Miami, Florida. This recording is currently burning up the iTunes classical charts.

During the institute, Geneil and Taliah spent at least six hours a day rehearsing and learning techniques as well as attending workshops geared at marketing yourself as an artist and resume building. They were able to meet talented emerging singers like themselves as well as work with seasoned professionals. Tailah Lee Johnson spoke about the experience as a whole and on the experience of professional recording, “My confidence and abilities grew a great deal during this experience. The most wonderful thing was being able to learn such an incredible work in great detail and work with the other musicians to create something beautiful and meaningful. Coming together in an effort like this is something indescribable.”

The Professional Choral Institute is a partnership between Seraphic Fire and the University of South Florida which focuses on ushering aspiring ensemble singers from talented amateurs to professional
musicians. The two-week-long program teaches undergraduate, graduate and pre-professional singers the skills needed to move into the growing field of professional choral singing. Areas of vocational
training include: vocal technique, musicianship skills, rehearsal comportment, audition skills, and résumé and headshot evaluation. PCI’s participants work with Seraphic Fire to rehearse, perform and
record masterworks of the Classical choral repertoire. PCI makes its home in USF’s newly opened Performing Arts Teaching Facility.

Geneil Perkins is a senior Vocal Performance major from Moreno Valley, California. She has performed multiple times as a soloist for the Orchestra of Southern Utah's yearly production of Handel's Messiah. She has also participated in many musical productions with the SUU Music Department, in addition to earning awards in the last two NATS Las Vegas Chapter competitions. After she graduates in the spring, she plans on attending graduate school to pursue a Master's degree in Opera Studies.

Cedar City native Taliah Lee Johnson, mezzo-soprano, is working toward her Bachelor’s degree in music education. Taliah performed multiple times as an alto soloist in the Orchestra of Southern Utah’s production of Handel’s Messiah. She has participated in numerous other concerts and productions at SUU and was awarded Third Place in the NATS Las Vegas Chapter competition.

ABOUT THE COLLEGE
The Southern Utah University College of Performing and Visual Arts is comprised of nationally accredited departments of Art and Design, Music, Theatre Arts and Dance, as well as a graduate program in Arts Administration. The College offers 16 different degree areas, including liberal arts Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees; professional Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Fine Arts in art and theatre degrees; and a Master of Fine Arts in Arts Administration degree. More than 60 full- and part-time faculty and staff are engaged in teaching and mentoring over 550 majors in the College. Over 1100 students enroll each year in over 195 arts classes on the SUU campus. The College presents 100 performances, lectures, presentations, and exhibitions each year. The College’s affiliate organizations include the Braithwaite Fine Arts Gallery, American Folk Ballet, Utah Shakespeare Festival, the performance group Acclamation, and the SUU Ballroom Dance Company. For more information about the College of Performing and Visual Arts, contact the Office of the Dean at (435) 865-8561, or by e-mail at cpvamktg@suu.edu.