MSUM School of Performing Arts Voice Festival

The power of relaxing (Workshop)
Christopher Dufault
Tuesday, January 18
Fox Theatre
Section 1: 4:00 - 4:50 p.m.
Section 2: 5:00 - 5:50 p.m.

Christopher Dufault (Mixed Martial Arts Instructor/Relaxation Coach) will lead two 50-minute workshops open to college students, with content targeting performers and athletes. Chris has been involved with martial arts for over 30 years and for the majority of the past two decades has trained voice students in his aikizanshin technique, which teaches students the power of relaxed movement in performance. The focus of this masterclass will be on showing the application of the basic principles of aikizanshin though hands-on interactions and demonstrations.

*MSUM Students Only; 4 p.m. tickets; 5 p.m. tickets.

Singing in English (Voice Masterclass)
Holly Janz
Wednesday, January 19
Fox Theatre
4:00 - 5:30 p.m.
This voice masterclass is open to college and area high school voice students led by Dr. Holly Janz. The focus of this masterclass will be on singing in English through the vehicles of opera, art song, or music theater.

Lyric mezzo-soprano, Holly Janz, has performed with opera companies and symphonies across the country, including Saint Louis, Indianapolis, Fargo, Grand Forks, Wichita, and Duluth. The 2021-22 season includes the role of Tessa in The Gondoliers, as well as alto soloist in Mendelssohn’s Elijah and soloist with the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony. An enthusiastic collaborative artist, Ms. Janz joins forces with pianist Ana María Otamendi and soprano Camille Ortiz for a program of all Spanish and Latin American music. Additionally, she will reunite with pianist Michael Keller on Grieg’s Op. 67, Haugtussa. Holly, a native of Marshfield, WI, is a professor of voice, diction and pedagogy at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN.

*8 participants only; get your tickets.

*Spectators welcome. Must register for tickets!

Stephen Sulich

Stephen Sulich, Guest Artist, is Collaborative Pianist/Artist-in-Residence at the Hvidsten Hall of Music/Concordia College. He has worked as collaborative pianist, coach and conductor starting in December, 2009. He was guest conductor, pianist, coach and chorusmaster for the Fargo-Moorhead Opera from 2003-2020. He has conducted with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera and Central City Opera. He graduated from Indiana University and has performed in recital with Concordia and MSUM faculty. He lives in Fargo with his husband and fellow guest artist Frederic Heringes.

Singing & Acting (Voice Masterclass)
Fred Heringes
Thursday, January 20
Fox Theatre
4:00 - 5:30 p.m.
This voice masterclass is open to college and area high school voice students led by Fred Heringes. The focus of his masterclass will be on acting and singing through opera, music theater, and American Songbook.

Frederic Heringes has over 40 years of experience as a professional singer, actor and stage director. He made his Broadway debut in 1993 as a principal actor in The Phantom of the Opera. He studied acting and stage directing at The Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts in California, performing in over 30 productions in the Conservatory’s professional repertory company. As a classical singer, he has sung with the Florida Grand Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Anchorage Opera, and Fargo-Moorhead Opera companies, among others. Has staged full opera productions at NDSU Challey School of Music, Concordia College, and for the Fargo /Moorhead Opera. He continues to act professionally at regional theater companies across the US, most recently thisfall at the Sierra Repertory Theatre in California, appearing as Hercule Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express. www.Frederic-Heringes.com

*8 participants only; get your tickets.

*Spectators welcome. Must register for tickets!

Stephen Sulich

Stephen Sulich, Guest Artist, is Collaborative Pianist/Artist-in-Residence at the Hvidsten Hall of Music/Concordia College. He has worked as collaborative pianist, coach and conductor starting in December, 2009. He was guest conductor, pianist, coach and chorusmaster for the Fargo-Moorhead Opera from 2003-2020. He has conducted with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera and Central City Opera. He graduated from Indiana University and has performed in recital with Concordia and MSUM faculty. He lives in Fargo with his husband and fellow guest artist Frederic Heringes.

Contest and Audition Preparation (Voice Masterclass)
Jenny Dufault
Friday, January 21
Fox Theatre
4:00 - 5:30 p.m.
This voice masterclass is open to area college and high school students led by Dr. Jenny Dufault. The focus of this masterclass will be preparing students for contest and college auditions.

Jenny Dufault has been a Professor at MSUM for over twenty years. She specializes in teaching young singers to discover and develop their individual voices. Jenny’s vocal approach is to focus on a clear, free tone quality—allowing the singer’s natural voice to be revealed. She has a legacy of students who are now a combination of both music teachers and performers. Jenny has a PhD from the University of Minnesota, where her area of research was in the area of vocal pedagogy (or in teaching voice). This research included observing exemplary voice teachers from around the United States and documenting their teaching philosophies and studio techniques. This research led Jenny to develop her own teaching approach—it is this approach that she utilizes in her own singing and shares with her students.

*8 participants only; get your tickets.

*Spectators welcome. Must register for tickets!

Stephen Sulich

Stephen Sulich, Guest Artist, is Collaborative Pianist/Artist-in-Residence at the Hvidsten Hall of Music/Concordia College. He has worked as collaborative pianist, coach and conductor starting in December, 2009. He was guest conductor, pianist, coach and chorusmaster for the Fargo-Moorhead Opera from 2003-2020. He has conducted with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera and Central City Opera. He graduated from Indiana University and has performed in recital with Concordia and MSUM faculty. He lives in Fargo with his husband and fellow guest artist Frederic Heringes.