VOICE, AND OPERA FACULTY
FACULTY BY AREA
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Voice, and Opera
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Susan Boardman, Voice and Opera
Richard Kennedy, Voice
Norman Spivey, Voice
Jennifer Trost, Voice
Beverly Patton, Musical Theatre Voice and Opera
Raymond Sage, Musical Theatre Voice
Mary Saunders, Musical Theatre Voice
Susan Boardman is associate professor of music at The Pennsylvania State University, University Park Campus, where she teaches voice and directs the Penn State Opera Theatre. Before joining the Penn State music faculty in 1993, she spent seventeen years teaching voice, vocal pedagogy, and opera at the University of Miami in Florida. Dr. Boardman, a lyric soprano, has appeared with the Florida Family Opera of the Greater Miami Opera Association, the Gold Coast Theater, the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra, Gusman Hall Chamber Players, Festival Miami, the Dranoff Double Piano Symposium, the Miami Bach Society, the Nittany Valley Symphony Orchestra, the Pennsylvania Centre Chamber Orchestra, the State College Choral Society, and Penn State's Centre Stage, among other musical organizations. She has presented solo recitals in Europe and Australia, as well as the United States, achieved renown as a singer of new music, and premiered a number of vocal works.
Dr. Boardman earned a bachelor of music and a master of music from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a doctor of musical arts in vocal performance from the College-Conservatory of Music of the University of Cincinnati, Ohio. Her research on art song settings of folksongs and vocal training for a career in musical theatre has been published in the Music Educators Journal, the Journal of Singing, and Australian Voice. She sits on the board of directors of the National Opera Association.
Richard Kennedy, tenor, has sung with the Boston Symphony, the American Chamber Orchestra in Washington, D.C., and the Utah, Charlotte, Richmond, Green Bay, La Crosse, and Wheeling symphonies, among others. He has appeared as soloist in New York City with the St. Cecilia Chorus, in Boston with the Masterworks Chorale, the John Oliver Chorale, the Cantata Singers, and the M.I.T. Chorale, in Philadelphia with the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, and in Washington, D.C. with the Cathedral Choral Society. He has also appeared with the Bach Choir of Pittsburgh, the Bach Festival Choir in Rochester, New York, the Detroit Oratorio Society, the Oratorio Singers of Charlotte, and with the Los Angeles Master Chorale as aria soloist in Bach's St. Matthew Passion.
Internationally, he has given solo recitals in England, Germany, Austria, and Canada. In the United States, he has appeared as recitalist at Carnegie Recital Hall and the National Arts Club in New York City, at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., at the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina, at Wynmoor Recital Hall in Florida, at the San Francisco Conservatory, at the San Francisco Community Music Center, and at many colleges and universities throughout the United States. He is often asked to give master classes in conjunction with recitals.
Mr. Kennedy has been a winner of the Franz Schubert Prize for Singers awarded in Austria, a second-place winner of the 1981 National Association of Teachers of Singing Artist Awards, an international finalist in the Opera Company of Philadelphia/Luciano Pavarotti International Voice Competition, and a finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council New England Regional Auditions.
He has toured as vocal soloist with the Mantovani Orchestra performing in concerts from coast to coast in the United States, as well as in Canada, Japan, and Taiwan. The concerts of music from Viennese operetta and American musical theatre afforded performances in major performing halls, including the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, the Ordway Theatre in St. Paul, and Powell Symphony Hall in St. Louis, among many others.
Voice study was accomplished at Indiana University, where he earned the Bachelor of Science degree in Music and the Master of Music degree in Vocal Pedagogy, and at Boston University where he earned the Artist Diploma as a student of Phyllis Curtin. Further advanced study was accomplished at the Franz Schubert Institute in Austria where he coached repertoire with Ernst Haefliger, Walter Berry, and Hans Hotter, and at the Jeunesses Musicales du Canada where he coached with Gérard Souzay and Dalton Baldwin. He has also coached with Elly Ameling, Richard Miller, Jörg Demus, and John Wustman, and studied privately with Carol Webber.
Notable performances include recitals in England, Germany, Austria, Canada, New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and San Francisco, and appearances as the Evangelist in Bach's St. John Passion in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Providence, Rhode Island, Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Charlotte, North Carolina. Acclaimed oratorio performances include those of Mendelssohn's Elijah in North Carolina, Bach's Mass in B Minor with the Bach Choir of Pittsburgh, Mozart's Mass in C Minor with the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, and Handel's Messiah with the Rhode Island Civic Chorale and Orchestra, with the Handel Oratorio Society in Rock Island, Illinois, and with the Rochester Oratorio Society in New York.
Professor Kennedy's voice students have been accepted at prestigious institutions for advanced study (Eastman School of Music, University of Michigan, Indiana University, the Manhattan School of Music, and the Curtis Institute of Music, among others). Some have pursued teaching careers (Lycoming College, Brewton-Parker College, and Seton Hill College), and some are pursuing performing careers (Pittsburgh Opera Center, Washington Opera, Savoy Opera Theatre, Lyric Opera Cleveland, Opera Delaware, Lancaster Opera Company, Junge Kammeroper Köln, Theater Nordhausen, Weston Playhouse, and the Aldeburgh Festival). Still others have been awarded music teaching positions in the public schools throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states at the high school, middle school, and elementary school levels.
Norman Spivey earned a bachelor of music degree in voice performance at Southeastern Louisiana University, a master of music in voice and opera at the University of North Texas, and a doctor of musical arts degree in voice performance at The University of Michigan. He traveled to Paris on a Fulbright grant and continued his studies with renowned baritones Gerard Souzay and Gabriel Bacquier. While in France, he was awarded the Harriet Hale Wolley award as artist-in-residence at the Fondation des Etats-Unis. Spivey toured France and Canada as Papageno in Die Zauberflote, in addition to singing with l'Opera de Lille, l'Opera de Nantes, and l'Opera de Nancy.
Remaining active in concert and oratorio work, he has sung Schubert's Winterreise in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, and gave the American premiere of Poulenc's rediscovered Quatre Poemes de Max Jacob. Fellowships have included the Aspen Music Festival and the Institute for Advanced Vocal Studies in Paris. An active member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), Spivey was chosen as an intern for the prestigious NATS Intern Program, and later hosted this program at Penn State. He has served as president of the Allegheny Mountain chapter of NATS, governor of the Pennsylvania District of NATS, and national vice-president for NATS Workshops.
He served on the voice faculty at Southeastern Louisiana University before joining the Penn State School of Music faculty in 1992. As associate professor of music, he teaches singing to students in the School of Music and in the bachelor of fine arts in musical theatre program, as well as courses in voice pedagogy.
Jennifer Trost joined the School of Music faculty in 2005 to teach studio voice and courses in vocal literature at both the undergraduate and graduate level. She earned a bachelor of arts degree in music education at Albion College in Albion, Michigan; a master of music degree in applied voice at Michigan State University; and took advanced courses at the doctoral level at the University of Southern California. Prior to coming to Penn State, Professor Trost taught studio voice for several years at the Richard Strauss Conservatory in Munich, Germany followed by a year as a visiting associate professor of voice and acting head of the voice area at the University of California in Santa Barbara.
Trost is a young-dramatic soprano and is still active as an opera singer. Her first professional engagement was as a resident artist at the Los Angeles Opera. Since 1991, her career has been based in Germany. During her thirteen years as a resident of Germany, she was a soloist in Wuppertal and at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. She was privileged to work regularly with well-known conductors such as Lorin Maazel, Wolfgang Sawallisch, James Levine, and especially Zubin Mehta, the General Music Director of the Bavarian State Opera. Trost was a much sought after singer known for her versatility and ability to learn quickly. She sang as a guest artist at the Komische Oper in Berlin, the National Theater in Mannheim, the Salzburg Music Festival, the Opera de Paris Garnier, the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, Italy, the British Broadcasting Corporation (Proms) in London, the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group, the Munich Radio Orchestra, and the Munich Philharmonic. Trost sang the role of Magdalena (a role specifically composed for her) in the world-premiere of Aribert Reimann's "Bernarda Albas Haus."
Trost is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Recently she served as a consultant on the translation (from German to English) of the book: "Beruf: Opernsangerein Ratgeber" by Marita Knobel and Brigitte Steinert, published by Barenreiter-Verlag Karl Votterle GmbH & Co. KG Kassel (2002).
Click here for more on Jennifer Trost's recordings
Beverly Patton joined the School of Music in 2006 from the Penn State School of Theatre where she spent the previous eight years as Coordinator of Musical Direction for the BFA Musical Theatre program. She now serves as Musical Director/Conductor for the Penn State Opera Theatre and as Musical Theatre Voice Specialist. Dr. Patton received the BM in Music Education and MA in Vocal Performance from California State University, Chico, and the DMA in Choral Conducting from the University of Southern California. She received an Instrumental Conducting Fellowship to The Aspen Music School where she studied with Rodney Eichenberger and Murray Sidlin. Formerly Director of Opera and Musical Theatre at Ithaca College, Dr. Patton has also taught at the University of California, Irvine and Irvine Valley College. She is a veteran conductor of musical theatre and opera productions including Gianni Schicchi, The Bartered Bride, Ragtime, Into the Woods, and The Merry Wives of Windsor. She has been Artist-in-Residence at the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival and University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Summer Arts Camp. With Mary Saunders she presented the workshop "Bel Canto or Can Belto" at the Internationaler und Interdisziplinarer Kongress und Festival: BROADWAY AN DER RUHR in Dortmund, Germany, and with Norman Spivey she was Co-Director of the NATS Winter Workshop "Musical Theatre and the Belt Voice: Part II" in New York. She has presented her workshop, “New Century Sounds” in Essen, Berlin and Hamburg, Germany. Dr. Patton is a member of the National Opera Association (having formerly served as Regional Governor of the NOA Northeast Division) and the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS).
Click here for more on Beverly Patton's publications
Raymond Sage received a bachelor's degree in vocal performance from Baylor University and a master's degree in vocal performance from the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), followed by doctoral and post-graduate work also at CCM. Before joining the musical theatre voice faculty at Penn State, Sage was on the voice and musical theatre faculties of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, The American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City, and New York University's Tisch School of the Arts' prestigious musical theatre conservatory, Collaborative Arts Project 21, Inc. (CAP 21). He remains on the voice faculty of the CAP 21 Professional Musical Theatre Summer Institute. His students have been seen in many Broadway productions, such as Follies, Titanic, Beauty and the Beast, Steel Pier, High Society, Cats, Scarlet Pimpernel, and many more.
As a performer, Sage appeared in the Broadway and national touring productions of Camelot, Beauty and the Beast, and Titanic, as well as in regional theatres across the country, such as Paper Mill Playhouse, Sacramento Theatre Company, and Dallas Summer Musicals. He has made television appearances on Late Night with David Letterman, The Howie Mandel Show, and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Sage is also a founding member of Monday Off, a jazz vocal quartet specializing in vocal jazz with a Broadway flair. Monday Off often appears at Carnegie Hall with Skitch Henderson and the New York Pops Orchestra and at many other concert halls and jazz clubs across the United States.
Mary Saunders, Cum Laude/Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Mount Holyoke College with a Master’s degree from Middlebury College, and the Sorbonne, Paris, studied with Pierre Bernac at the Ecole Normale Superieure de Musique. Associate Professor of Music, Head of Voice Instruction for the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre at Penn State University. Previously on the BFA Musical Theatre faculty at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, Connecticut. An active performer with Broadway, off-Broadway, film and television credits, Ms. Saunders has recently concentrated on the creation and performance of one-woman cabaret shows, the first of which, Stop, Time played to sell-out houses in New York City. In addition to her university teaching, she maintains a studio in Manhattan for professional singers. In this and recent seasons her students could be seen on Broadway in The Drowsy Chaperone, Wicked, Little Shop of Horrors, Urinetown, Hairspray, The Producers, Kiss Me Kate, Seussical, The Musical, Cabaret, Follies, 42nd Street, Rent, and Boys From Syracuse. She is frequently invited to present her workshop/seminar "Bel Canto/Can Belto: Training Musical Theatre Singers For The New Millennium" for convocations of singers and teachers of singing in the U.S. and Europe. She was a featured clinician at the NATS Winter Workshop 2001: Music Theatre and the Belt Voice-Part II in New York City.