William Stone: news
William Stone adjudicates at Met District Auditions in Cincinnati
Judges also awarded top prize and $1,000 to 21-year-old soprano Amanda Kaye Woodbury, a student at Indiana University. The other two district winners, also awarded $1,000 each and advancing to the next round, were mezzo-soprano Caitlin Mathes (age 27) and baritone Luis Alejandro Orozco (age 25), both students from University of Cincinnati.
These three singers will compete again on Saturday, January 16 in the competition’s regional auditions at Butler University in Indianapolis.
Students of William Stone meet with success
Christian Bowers, baritone, recently sang the Philadelphia premier of Lee Hoiby's I Have a Dream in recital at Temple University. He lives about 10 miles from the composer, and was coached by him for this premier.
John McCarthy, baritone, a senior in vocal performance at Temple University, was a winner in the NYC District Met Auditions and advances to the Regionals at 92nd St. Y in NYC on the 19th of January.
Nicholas Masters, a bass at The Academy of Vocal Arts, was a winner in the Philadelphia District Met Auditions and advances to the Regionals at the Kennedy Center in DC on January 31st. Nicholas will also be singing the role of Bottom in Midsummer Night's Dream this summer at Wolftrap.
Ryan Kuster, a bass-baritone at The Academy of Vocal Arts, will be in the prestigious Merola Program this summer with the San Francisco Opera.
Watch for more upcoming news of William Stone's students on this website.
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Friday Masterclasses at The Rock
Academy of Vocal Arts welcomes William Stone as visiting artist
K. James McDowell, Executive Director of the Academy of Vocal Arts, says Mr. Stone was chosen to join the faculty because of his "proven record as a teacher and presenter of master classes, and his broad-based experience with opera, oratorio, art song, and his superior musicianship, which enabled him to portray many of the most interesting baritone roles in 20th century opera, such as Mathis der Mahler and Wozzeck." [...continued]
Read or download the entire press release in PDF format from the Academy of Vocal Arts website here.
Pentatone releases SA-CD of David Garner songs
For more information, visit the "Phenomenon" product page on the Pentatone Classics website.
Duke Hospital to host William Stone presentation of "instant replay" voice training
The Duke Voice Care Center Dartfish Presentation will take place on July 20 from 4-6 PM on the campus of Duke Raleigh Hospital, 3400 Wake Forest Road in Medical Office 7, lower level classroom. Directions to Duke Raleigh are at http://www.dukeraleighhospital.org/about_us/map. A map of the campus is at http://www.dukeraleighhospital.org/about_us/map/index/duke_raleigh_campus_map.pdf. The presentation is free and open to the public, but space is limited and reservation is required. For more information or to make a reservation for the presentation, please call Karen Poston, Duke Voice Care Center Liaison at 919-681-4984.
Dr. Stone describes his use of Dartfish in teaching as follows:
"In the Fall of 2006, I was able to set up my voice studio to use the innovative Dartfish software, which allows instant replay, in the teaching of singing. I and my students are delighted with the results. Having video clips from each student’s first lesson creates a documentation of his/her starting level of singing, and provides a basis for measurement of progress over time. With Dartfish, we can record and analyze all aspects of a singer’s performance such as vocal technique, diction, pronunciation, musical accuracy and expression, facial expression, stage deportment, movement, gestures, etc., and even opera scenes and roles. The real advantage of Dartfish is its ability to provide immediate feedback, and to isolate and repeatedly review a small segment of movement and/or sound until it can be corrected and perfected. The students have the added advantage of being able to see and hear themselves objectively, just like the teacher does, which is impossible while singing."
World Voice Day 2009 celebration includes William Stone as guest panelist
The theme of the annual World Voice Day is vocal health: "Learn how to make your voice last a lifetime." The half-day celebration offers participants information on how to care for your voice, with special tips for singers and other vocal performers, teachers, and clergy; interactive acoustic voice analysis; demonstration of video laryngeal imaging.
Special events include a performance by vocalist Lois Deloatch; a panel discussion with voice experts, including Grant Llewellyn, Lois Deloatch, Metropolitan Opera baritone William Stone, former host of Good Morning America David Hartman, American Public Media’s The Story host Dick Gordon, John Dancy, and others; educational session on how the voice works, preventive vocal care, and effective treatment options for voice disorders by the Duke team of otolaryngologists, speech pathologists, and singing-voice specialist.
Free admission. Refreshments provided. Space is limited. To register, call 1-888-ASK-DUKE (1-888-275-3853).
Get the World Voice Day Celebration 2009 Flyer in PDF by clicking the image below (opens new browser window):
New audio added: Orff, Puccini, Ward
Four new audio files featuring baritone William Stone have been added to our "Listen" page: "Estuans interius ira vehementi" from Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, "I am John Proctor" from Robert Ward's The Crucible, and two selections from Puccini's operas, "Questo amor, vergogna mia" (from Edgar) and "Nulla! silenzio!" (from Il Tabarro).
Benita Valente is guest at Friday Masterclass
For this week's Friday Masterclass (11/14), William Stone welcomes soprano Benita Valente as guest artist.
Valente and Stone first shared the stage as soloists on February 12, 1988, during a performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in Tampa, Florida, under the direction of the late Robert Shaw.
They most famously sang together again in the '90s as a recital duo, touring eight concerts of Hugo Wolf's Italienisches Liederbuch to venues which included the Gardner Museum in Boston, Cincinnati Art Museum, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and Weil Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
For the masterclass, Ms. Valente will listen to selected songs and arias performed by Dr. Stone's students and offer her professional observations and feedback in front of the assembled audience.
All workshops are free and open to public observers. See the Friday Masterclass calendar for a list of scheduled dates and currently available details.
William Stone and Benita Valente in 1999.
[photo: Steve J. Sherman]
Singing in a Choral Setting
This week's Friday Masterclass (Sept. 12), "Singing in a Choral Setting," welcomes guest Dr. Tram Sparks, Associate Director of Choral Activities at Temple University, who will lead a working discussion on proper singing within a chorus.
All workshops are free and open to public observers. See the Friday Masterclass calendar for a list of scheduled dates and currently available details.
Friday vocal masterclasses begin Sept. 5th
A series of weekly vocal masterclasses by William Stone begins Friday, Sept. 5th. The nearly 2-hour masterclasses will be held every Friday at Temple University's Rock Hall Auditorium, from 12:40pm to 2:30pm.
These classes are offered as an opportunity for students,
singers, teachers and members of the community to observe a
professional singer and teacher work with his own students on
the technical aspects of singing and performing in a public
forum. Guest appearances by colleagues and performers will be
announced.
All workshops are free and open to public observers. See the Friday Masterclass calendar for a list of scheduled dates and currently available details.
William Stone launches new website
Today, September 1, 2008 marks the launch of williamstonebaritone.com, the official artist's website of baritone William Stone. The website has been established to be the central hub of information about Mr. Stone and his activities. Your greetings and comments are welcomed, and can be sent using the Contact form linked in the menu on the left of each page. Please watch for further developments.
Trio of concerts at 2008 Bellingham Festival
Baritone William Stone made his debut appearance with the esteemed Bellingham Festival of Music this month in Bellingham, Washington.
As part of the Festival's 15th season, which ran from July 5th though 20th this year, Stone performed as featured soloist in three concerts with the Bellingham Festival Orchestra, led by artistic director Michael Palmer, in works by J.S. Bach, Maurice Ravel, and Gustav Mahler.
On July 10, Stone performed Bach's cantata "Ich will den Kreutzstab gerne tragen," followed on July 14th by Bach's "Ich habe genug" and Ravel's three songs on texts by Paul Morand, "Don Quichotte à Dulcinée," the composer's last completed work.
To open the Festival's grand finale concert on July 20th, Stone was joined by tenor Jeffrey Springer to perform Mahler's "Das Lied von der Erde" in the chamber orchestra transcription by Arnold Schönberg.