The program will include “Les nuits d’été” by Hector Berlioz, “Six Elizabethan Songs” by Dominick Argento and “Knoxville: Summer of 1915” by Samuel Barber.

Free and open to the public.

 

Dana Zenobi joined the faculty at Southwestern University in 2007. A versatile performer who embraces both traditional repertoire and new music, she appeared in the American Premiere of Philip Glass’s Waiting for the Barbarians with Austin Lyric Opera, and performed with Lyric Opera Cleveland in the first production of Mark Adamo’s Little Women directed by the composer. The Cleveland Plain Dealer praised her “dazzling coloratura” and “irresitible phrasing” as Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance, and she has garnered similar success in roles ranging from Mozart heroines Konstanze and Donna Elvira to Verdi’s Violetta Valéry. She is featured on Viola By Choice Chamber Music Ensemble’s 2010 debut recording, Florilegium. She earned national recognition as both a performer and teacher in 2014, when she placed as a national art song performance finalist and received a citation for Inspiration in Teaching from The American Prize. A native of Northport, NY, Zenobi is active in the local community as the executive director of BELTÀ - Building Empowered Lives Through Art, a nonprofit organization that supports emerging artists as they build successful careers. She recently completed her DMA in Voice Performance and Pedagogy at The University of Texas at Austin, where her research focused on aural modeling and acoustic analysis of the singing voice.

Chuck Dillard was hired at age seven as pianist for his parents’ church, he fashioned his musical beginnings, education and career around the art of collaboration. In 2008 he was appointed as a faculty member in the new Collaborative Piano Area at the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas at Austin. Previously he was on the faculty at Furman University in Greenville, SC. As a collaborative partner, Dillard has recently performed with Joseph Alessi (N.Y. Philharmonic), Barbara Conrad (Metropolitan Opera), Deborah Domanski (Austin Lyric Opera), Stephen Lange (Boston Symphony), Gerry Pagano (St. Louis Symphony), Paul Pollard (Metropolitan Opera Orchestra), Jorgen Van Rijen (Royal Concertgebouw), Adam Unsworth (University of Michigan) and Douglas Yeo (Boston Symphony). Recent conference performances include the National Performing Arts Convention, ClarinetFest, International Trombone Festival, National Opera Association, International Double Reed Society, and Texas Music Educators Association. Dillard collaborated on the live recording of John Adams’ Nixon in China, released on the Naxos label in 2010. Also active in opera education, he has served as outreach pianist for Central City Opera, Opera Colorado, Opera Carolina, Piedmont Opera and Austin Lyric Opera. During the summers, he is music director of the Austin-based Spotlight on Opera. In the 2012 summer season, Dillard conducted Cosí fan tutte and Mark Adamo’s Little Women, as well as numerous opera scenes programs and art song recitals. In the summer of 2015, he will be joining the faculty of Opera Viva in Verona, Italy, a training program for singers and pianists that focuses on Italian Opera. He is also on the faculty of the Butler School of Music Young Artist Program, a summer program for young singers hosted by The University of Texas at Austin.