VCU department of Music
Concerts and Events
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A FEW ALUMNI HIGHLIGHTS

Pamela Moore Armstrong
Scholarship to The Manhattan School of Music. Columbia Artist Management Inc. The Metropolitan Opera; 3 years full-time opera contract in Germany; Paris Opera/ Bastille; Houston Grand Opera; New York City Opera; Michigan Opera Theatre; Bordeaux Opera (France); Vienna Staatsoper tour of China; Portland Opera; Utah Opera; San Diego Opera; Avignon Opera (France); Ravinnia Festival with Bryn Terfel; Los Angeles Opera; New Orleans Opera; Glyndebourne Opera (England); Opera Pacific; Palm Beach Opera; The Boston Lyric Opera.

Nita Baxani-Lawyer
The Manhattan School of Music; Spoleto Vocal Arts; soloist at the Kennedy Center for the Asian- American Youth Dance Troupe; numerous roles with local NYC companies.

Bob Burner
Apprentice Artist - Sarasota Opera; Amato Opera (NYC); Southwest Virginia Opera; Opera Amadeo (NYC); Opera Manhattan. Currently one of the twelve-member elite US Army Singing Sargeants.

Matt Burns
Scholarship to The Manhattan School of Music. Juilliard Opera Center. Aspen Opera; St. Louis Opera Theatre; The Boston Lyric Opera; Wolf Trap; full-time contract with New York City Opera singing many roles for 2002-2004. Anthony & Cleopatra - Carnegie Hall. Richard F Gold Career Grant; The Shoshana Foundation Award.

Lisa Edwards- Burrs
1994 Artistic Ambassador for the US government to South America; Richmond Symphony, Roanoke Symphony, Petersburg Symphony; guest artist concert series at Fayetteville State University, Georgia State University, University of Richmond, Christopher Newport University, Virginia State University, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Petersburg International Festival of Music, St. Patrick's Cathedral (New York), Southern Nevada Musical Arts Society (Las Vegas), Williamsburg Artsong Festival; Virginia NATS Guest Artist recital. National Silver Prize - Savannah Onstage Competition; national 2nd place - National Association of Teachers of Singing Artist Awards. Professor of Voice -Virginia State University.

Kara Harman
Tri- Cities Opera (New York); Operafestival di Roma (Italy); Richmond Philharmonic Orchestra; Swift Creek Mill Playhouse; Voice Faculty - University of Richmond.

Risa Harman
Frequent guest artist - New York Festival of Song; Weill Recital Hall (Carnegie Hall); WNYC radio debut (New York City); concert tour of Sweden; New York City Opera National Company; Boston Lyric Opera; Connecticut Opera; Connecticut Grand Opera; Lake George Opera; Glimmerglass Opera; Westchester Symphony, National Chorale (Avery Fisher Hall), Moab Chamber Music Festival, Beethoven Society of New York (Alice Tully Hall), Orchestra New England, Greater Lansing Symphony, Bridgeport Symphony, The Kennedy Center. First Prize - American Jenny Lind Competition; Licia Albanese - Puccini Foundation Award; Sullivan Foundation Award; Shoshana Foundation Award; Palm Beach Opera Award; Lola Hayes Foundation Award; Liederkranz Foundation Award; YWCA Studio Club Award; Washington International Voice Competition Award; D'Angelo Vocal Competition Award.

Michael Harper
Scholarship to The Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. Countertenor roles in Athens, Italy, France, London; Chinese National Opera; Shanghai International Music Festival (China); Neue Opernbühne Berlin; Pegasus Opera (Portugal).

Bekah Hughes
Scholarship to University of Maryland; Apprentice Artist - Sarasota Opera; Apprentice Artist - Baltimore Opera; American Institute of Musical Studies (Graz, Austria); Opera Vivente; Brevard Music Center Opera; guest artist for Williamsburg Choral Guild, Washington Vocal Artists, Richmond Choral Society; Meistersinger Finalist (AIMS-Austria).

Martin Hurt
Scholarship to The Manhattan School. Harwood Management. Phoenix Productions National Tour of Phantom of The Opera; Fireside Theatre (Wisconsin); Appalachian Summer Festival Opera; Utah Festival Opera; Boheme Opera (New Jersey); New England Lyric Operetta; Lake George Opera Festival; Millenial Arts Productions; Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts; Fort Lee Playhouse; Metropolitan Opera Educational Outreach Artist; US tour of Broadway musical Cats.

Lara Longsworth
Scholarship to the New England Conservatory of Music. Currently a scholarship student at Tri-Cities Opera of The State University of New York-Binghampton; Spoleto Vocal Arts - Italy.

Thomas Moser
Curtis Institute of Music and the Academy of the West in Santa Barbara. Additional vocal studies with Martial Singher, Gérard Souzay and Lotte Lehmann. Kammersänger and lifetime career at The Vienna State Opera; regular guest at the opera houses of Munich, Frankfurt, Berlin, Stuttgart, Lyon, Paris, Rome, Geneva, Los Angeles; The Metropolitan Opera; La Scala; Lincoln Center Festival; also a highly acclaimed recitalist, recording artist and concert performer.

Cathy Motley
Cape Cod Light Opera; Finsick Playhouse; entertainer for Holland-America Cruises around the world. 2000-2001 Nashville 6-month run of "I Love You, You're Perfect-Now Change"; Celebrity Cruise Lines "The Summit"-her own cabaret show for 6 months out of Paris; Radisson CruiseLines -world tour of her own cabaret show for 6 months.

Sam Savage
Doctorate at University of Maryland. Three years study with Franco Corelli. Pittsburgh Opera Apprentice Artist; Glimmerglass Opera; Sarasota Opera; North Dakota Opera; Operafestival di Roma (Italy); New York City Opera National Company; Professor of Voice -The University of Texas (Arlington).

Tracey Welborn
Scholarship to The Curtis Institute of Music. Laifer Artists Management. Chautauqua Opera; Dayton Opera; Opera Pacific; Virginia Opera; Belgium Opera; Glyndebourne Opera (England); Canadian Opera; Lausanne Opera (Switzerland); Geneva Opera; Opera Zuid (Holland); Boston Lyric Opera; Scottish Opera; Bolongna Opera (Italy); Dallas Opera; Portland Opera; Teatro Regio (Italy); Spoleto (USA); Paris Opera; Pittsburgh Opera; Los Angeles Opera - tour of Hong Kong; Alice Tully Hall; Aix-en-Provence Opera (France); series of concerts in Japan; Hollywood Bowl; Covent Garden Festival; winner in the Pavarotti International Voice competition; first place winner of the Washington International Voice Competition (while a student at VCU); The Richard Tucker Foundation's Jacobson Grant.


Brandon Wood
Côté Artists Management; Virginia Opera Spectrum Artist 2002 - 2003; Operafestival di Roma (Italy); Metropolitan Opera Mid Atlantic Regional Finalist.