School of Music Assistant Professor of Voice Gwendolyn D. Alfred, D.M.A., performed at the prestigious International Congress of Voice Teachers Conference (ICVT) in Toronto, Canada, while Assistant Professor of Cello Juliette Herlin, D.M.A., performed at the Festival I Djurs og Mols in Ebeltoft, Denmark.
Amplifying Unspoken Voices
Gwendolyn D. Alfred, D.M.A.
Held every four years, ICVT is a premier global gathering of voice teachers, featuring master classes and sessions selected through a highly competitive review process. From more than 350 submissions, Alfred was selected to present “Unspoken Voices: Living Black Women Composers and Their Settings of Black Women Poets,” one of only four evening recitals selected to be featured at the University of Toronto. Cecilia Lo-Chien Kao, D.M.A., associate professor of professional practice, accompanied her on piano.
The performance highlighted rarely performed works set to texts by Black women poets, including Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, Undine Smith Moore and Betty Jackson King.
Alfred and Cecilia Lo-Chien Kao at the ICVT Conference.
“I felt honored to bring the music of trailblazing black women composers to life while also honoring the black women composers of the present-day on an international stage,” Alfred said. “This recital featured music that has never before been performed or heard on this platform, and I’m looking forward to sharing it at many more locations in the future.”
Her program was met with strong enthusiasm, leading to invitations to present “Unspoken Voices” at other institutions and an upcoming feature in the NATS Journal of Singing. The article will discuss her motivation for creating a recital of this type and why it has captured the attention of so many educational institutions across the country.
She was supported in her travel by the Dean’s Exceptional Travel Grant.
A Full-Circle Moment in Denmark
Juliette Herlin, D.M.A.
Herlin was invited to perform at the Festival I Djurs og Mols and teach at the Open Strings Masterclasses, a full circle moment, as she first attended the course as a student in 2009.
“The artistic director reached out after seeing that I was in the United States and invited me back, this time as faculty,” Herlin said. “I was able to connect with students from all over the world.”
During the festival, Herlin led masterclasses with students and performed in a chamber concert with fellow faculty members. Their program featured a quartet for two cellos, violin and viola.
“The festival took place in a natural park — it was like a retreat,” she said. “It was very peaceful, very beautiful, and the perfect environment to work with students and prepare for the concert.”