October 3, 2006 Source: :
http://www.mta.ca/news/?id=1112 From Mount A to the Met and
back again SACKVILLE, NB — The Metropolitan
Opera, Carnegie Hall, Mount Allison’s Brunton Auditorium…just what to do
these stages have in common? They’ve all been performance locations for
soprano extraordinaire and Allisonian Wendy Nielsen. Wendy has returned to
the Mount Allison campus this year as a member of the music faculty. The Harvey Station, NB native says, "It’s nice to be back at Mount Allison.
I really enjoy working with the students. It feels like I’ve come full
circle to return to the school where I started my musical career. I’ve been
at Mount Allison before, for recitals and masterclasses, but those visits
usually consist of a condensed period of instruction and performance. It
will be nice to be able to stay for a while and see the students’ progress." No stranger to the stage, Wendy Nielsen is a well-known name on the North
American Opera music scene. Her album Forgotten Songs, Forgotten Loves
(2004) received both Juno and ECMA nominations. Wendy is also a sought-out
voice teacher and music adjudicator, adjudicating at several music festivals
in the Maritimes and has performed for audiences around the world. Wendy’s teaching at Mount Allison for this year consists of one-on-one
instruction with voice students, classes in voice pedagogy, as well as
overseeing the popular Opera Workshop. But she hasn’t traded the stage for
the classroom for the entire year. In November, Wendy will travel to
Edmonton to perform in Don Giovanni with the Edmonton Opera. She’ll also
take the stage at Mount Allison that month, performing with fellow faculty
member Edmund Dawe in Brunton Auditorium on November 24. Wendy began her studies at Mount Allison and moved to the University of
Lethbridge to continue studying with the professor she began her studies
with at Mount A — George Evelyn. She later obtained her master’s degree at
the University of British Columbia and has been invited to lead several
residencies and masterclasses at universities and festivals across Canada. For more information visit Wendy’s web site at www.wendynielsen.ca —30— Photo courtesy of Colbert Artist Management Inc.
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