Art of the Divine

ARTISTS: Susan Dunn, soprano, and David Heid, piano

DATE: November 11 2007, 3 PM (2:00 PM Tour)

SITE: NC Museum of Art 
2110 Blue Ridge Road, Raleigh

PROGRAM

• Handel (attributed): Dank sei dir, Herr
• Respighi: from Antica poesia popolare armena: No, non è morto il figlio tuo, La mamma è come il pane caldo, & Il sono la madre
• Wolf: from Mörike Lieder: Schlafendes Jesuskind, Auf ein altes Bild, Zum Neuen Jahr, Gebet, Wo find ich Trost?, & Seufzer
• Barber: from Hermit Songs: At Saint Patrick's Purgatory, Saint Ita's Vision, The Heavenly Banquet, The Crucifixion, The Praises of God, & The Desire for Hermitage
• Hindemith: from Das Marienleben: Geburt Maria, Maria Heimsuchung, Geburt Christi, Pieta, Stillung Maria mit der Auferstandenen, & Vom Tode Maria III

TICKETS: $10 General Public; $8 NCMA Members & Students

INFORMATION & TICKET SALES

 - NCMA Box Office (919) 715-5923
 - Raleigh Chamber Music Guild (919) 821-2030

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

A native of Bauxite, Arkansas, Susan Dunn is completely American trained, having studied at Indiana University in Bloomington and then at the University of Illinois privately with the renowned coach and accompanist John Wustman. During the final years of her studies, Dunn began to attract the attention of the music world and also to win prestigious awards: the D'Angelo Young Artist Competition, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Award and the Opera Company of Philadelphia/Luciano Pavarotti International Vocal Competition, and then in 1983 three major honors - The Richard Tucker Award, Chicago's WGN-Illinois Opera Competition and the Dallas Morning News - G.B. Dealey Award.

During her career, Dunn has achieved international success in Verdi, Wagner, Strauss and recital singing. Dunn has demonstrated her gifts on the world's most challenging stages: La Scala in Milan, where she made her debut in Aïda, New York's Carnegie Hall, where she created a sensation in a concert performance of Act I of Wagner's Die Walküre; at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall where she appeared with the New York Philharmonic in the Verdi Requiem and Strauss' Four Last Songs; with the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Leonora in Verdi's La Forza del Destino; at Chicago's Orchestra Hall in a concert performance of Verdi's Simon Boccanegra; at the Vienna State Opera as Amelia in Un Ballo in Maschera and at the Australian Operas as Desdemona in Othello. She made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in Il Trovatore in February of 1990.

Dunn has recorded an album of arias for London/Decca Records with Riccardo Chailly conducting. She sings Tove in London's recording of Schoenberg's Gurrelieder and appears on that label's recording of Mahler's Das Klagende Lied, all with Maestro Chailly conducting. In addition to Act I of Walüre (with Lorin Maazel conducting) recorded for the Telarc label, Dunn is also the soprano soloist in their release of Verdi's Requiem. This recording, with Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony, was awarded the "Grammy" as the Classical Album of the Year in 1988. Her staged performances of Giovanna d'Arco and I Vespri Siciliani from Bologna, again with Maestro Chailly, are also available on video.

David Heid comes to North Carolina after a successful career in New York City as a vocal coach/accompanist. Among the many well-known singers he has performed with are Karen Beardsley, Susan Dunn, Adria Firestone and Carolyn James. A composer, arranger and conductor, he made his Lincoln Center debut in Alice Tully Hall in 1994. In the summer of 1997, he was heard at both the Darling Harbor Convention Center and the historic Towne Hall in Sydney, Australia. His coaching clients include past Grammy and Tony Award winners.

Formerly on staff of the renowned Juilliard School in New York City, he served as musical director for the 1992 production of Marat-Sade. He also performed (pianist) with the Chautauqua Theater Company, part of one of North America's oldest summer arts festivals.

David is currently a staff accompanist at Duke University and is in demand throughout the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area as a collaborative artist. He has worked with many of the areas leading organizations including The Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle, The Fletcher Foundation, Opera Company of North Carolina, Theater in the Park, Thompson Theater Summerfest and Triangle Opera Theater.

Additionally he continues to work extensively in gospel music and has recorded on a number of Christian labels. He has toured the U.S. and Canada with Jane Syftestad and was the founding director of The Voices of St. John's MCC - named in 1997 "The Best Gospel Choir in the Triangle." Their debut CD "Anywhere with Jesus, was nominated for a GLAMA Award in the contemporary spiritual category.