UNCSA Chancellor and Maestro John Mauceri                        Photo by Donald Dietz

Gustav Mahler's

Symphony No. 2 ("Resurrection")

performed by

The UNCSA Symphony Orchestra
Maestro John Mauceri, Conductor

featuring

A massed choir consisting of members of the UNCSA and Winston-Salem community, as well as student singers from other UNC universities

with

guest soloist and UNCSA alumna Tichina Vaughn, mezzo-soprano

and

student soloist and Fletcher Fellow Jodi Burns, soprano

7:30 p.m. Friday, April 17
Stevens Center

405 West Fourth St., Winston-Salem

Tickets: $12 adults / $10 seniors and students

Call the UNCSA Box Office at 336-721-1945 to reserve seats, or click on "Box Office" at the left.

UNCSA Symphony Orchestra                                                                 Photo by Steve Davis

Tichina Vaughn, Mezzo-soprano

Though a much sough-after interpreter of the Verdi mezzo-soprano repertoire, American mezzo-soprano Tichina Vaughn has a versatility -- coupled with the full, rich and lustrous quality of her voice -- that has allowed her to explore a diverse range of roles spanning Monteverdi, Handel and Rossini through Mozart, Wagner and Bernstein in some of the world’s most prestigious opera houses and concert halls.

Ms. Vaughn completed her studies at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and began her operatic career at the Metropolitan Opera as a member of the Young Artist Development Program. In the following years she made debuts in numerous theatres and festivals (the National Opera of Hong Kong, Michigan Opera Theater, Opera Pacific, Tulsa Opera, Seattle Opera, Washington, D.C., Buenos Aires, Santiago, Spoleto, Ravinia) in  repertoire including Aida, Don Carlos, Un Ballo in Maschera, Messa di Requiem, L’Incoronazione di Poppea, Porgy and Bess, and The Magic Flute.

Tichina Vaughn launched her European career as a principal artist of the Stuttgart State Opera, where she captivated audiences and critics alike. Her ability to excel in both Italian and German mezzo-soprano repertoire led to many triumphs in Stuttgart, which included Fricka in Die Walküre and Waltraute in Die Götterdämmerung -- both of which she has filmed for the Euro Arts-distributed DVD of the Stuttgart Ring Cycle -- as well as emotionally electrifying performances of Azucena in Il Trovatore and Princess Eboli in Don Carlo. Other roles in Stuttgart included Erda in Das Rheingold and Siegfried, Venus in Tannhauser, Herodias in Salome, Cornelia in Handel’s Gulio Cesare, Widow Begbick in Rise and Fall of Mahagonny, and Giulietta in Tales of Hoffmann.

Internationally celebrated for her portrayal of Verdi's Egyptian princess Amneris in Aida, Ms. Vaughn has a current schedule that includes a return in this role to Arena di Verona, where she has been a regular guest since 2003, as well as debut performances in Rome at the Baths of Caracalla. Future engagements include performances as principal artist of the renowned Semper Opera in Dresden, where she will make role debuts as Isabella in Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algiers, as Jezibaba in Dvorak’s Rusalka and as Count Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus. Other roles in Dresden include Venus in Tannhäuser, Herodias in Salome, and Azucena in Il Trovatore.

Tichina Vaughn continues to establish herself as a major vocal presence on some of the most important operatic and concert stages in the world. In recent seasons her repertoire has expanded to include role debuts as Klytemnestra in Strauss’s Elektra for Frankfurt Opera, in which critics hailed her the high point of the ensemble, as well as her Los Angeles Opera debut in Il Trittico. House debuts have included her Budhapest Opera debut as Azucena in Il Trovatore, and her San Francisco and Graz debuts as Ulrica in Ballo in Maschera. Other companies to host this gifted artist have included Hamburg State Opera (Ballo, Tannhauser); Finnish National Opera (Das Rheingold, Siegfried);  Bregenz Festival (Porgy and Bess); Canary Islands Music Festival Las Palmas (Salome); Teatro Lirico di Cagliari (Aida, Ballo); Teatro della Muse, Ancona (Ballo); Teatro Verdi, Trieste (Trovatore, Ballo); Teatro Carlo Felice (Candide, Trovatore); and Teatro Filarmonico Verona (Ballo).

 In addition to her many operatic successes, Ms. Vaughn also enjoys much demand as a performer of orchestral and chamber music, jazz and crossover programs and is a much sought-after recitalist. In fact, she has sung in the most prestigious concert halls with the most popular orchestras, such as the Chicago Symphony, the Detroit Symphony, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. as well as the San Antonio, North Carolina, and Honolulu symphonies. Recently she received rave reviews for her Festival Gala performance with the Deustche Philharmonic Rheinland Pflaz,  the televised Gala Benefit for AIDs with Maestro Stefan Soltesz and the Essen Philharmonic, and as a special guest for the Latvian National Music Awards in Riga. Additionally she has performed with the RTE National Symphony, Dublin, Ireland, and Requiem di Verdi in the breathtaking National Cathedral of Parma conducted by Mislhav Rostropovich, as well as performances of the same piece in Reggio Calabria and Zagreb, Croatia with Nicola Luisotti.

Ms. Vaughn's success as a recitalist led to the 2005 release of her debut solo CD "Christmas at my House." Her discography also includes the Naxos released CD of the Stuttgart Ring Cycle.

The recipient of many awards and honors, Tichina Vaughn was awarded by the Ministry of Culture of the City of Stuttgart the coveted title of "Kammersangerin" in recognition of her contribution to the cultural enrichment of the city. Other awards have included a Richard Tucker Study Grant, Opera Index Award, Lucia Albanese Grant and a Metropolitan Opera National Council Winner Award.

Jodi Burns, Soprano

Jodi Burns began study in the fall of 2007 as a fellow at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts Fletcher Opera Institute. She is a student of Dr. Marilyn Taylor.

Ms. Burns graduated with honors in 2007 from the Ohio State University. Her roles include Poppea in Monteverdi's The Coronation of Poppea and Diana/Giove in Cavalli's La Calisto. As Poppea, “Jodi Burns astonishes with her ability to insinuate sensuality into every note,” according to The Columbus Dispatch.

Since coming to the Fletcher Institute, she has appeared as the Chambermaid in Dvorak’s The Devil and Kate, Adina in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore, Flamminia in Haydn’s Il mondo della luna, and Rose in Weill’s Street Scene. She also sang the role of Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro for Piedmont Opera.

Her professional debut with Piedmont Opera was the role of Ida in Die Fledermaus; she also sang the role of The Dew Fairy in the production of Hansel and Gretel.

Recently, she competed in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She was a winner of the North Carolina District Auditions in Charlotte, and she also claimed first place in the Southeast Regional Finals in Atlanta.

In the summer of 2006, Ms. Burns participated in the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS) program in Graz, Austria, where she studied with Marjorie Bennet Stephens. While in Graz, she had the privilege of working in master class with the acclaimed baritone Bo Skovhus, and was a frequent soloist on AIMS Artists in Recital Concerts.

Throughout her tenure at Ohio State, Ms. Burns performed various solos with the OSU Symphonic Choir and Women's Glee Club. Other solo work includes 2007 performances of the soprano solos Buxtehude's Cantata, Jesu Meine Freude, and a featured spot in the Mark Moffett Memorial Scholarship Concert in 2006.