Voice Faculty and Guest Pianist Perform in Recital posted 3/24/09

Adrian, Mich. - Collaborative pianist, Jeremy Reger, will join coloratura soprano Kelly Holst and special guest soprano Beth Major in a recital of arias, art songs and duets on Monday, April 6, 2009 at 8 P.M. in Dawson Auditorium on the Adrian College Campus.

The program will include songs by John Dowland and Hugo Wolf, Claude Debussy’s “Quatre chansons de jeunesse”, selections from the great American Songbook composers Berlin, Gershwin, Porter and Richard Rodgers, as well as opera arias and duets.

Dr. Kelly Holst serves on the Adrian College voice faculty where she is an adjunct professor of voice. Dr. Holst has performed over a dozen operatic roles including the Queen of the Night in “Die Zauberflöte”, Olympia in “Les Contes d’Hoffmann”, Adele in “Die Fledermaus”, Barbarina in “Le nozze di Figaro”, Zerlina in “Don Giovanni”, Coloraura Soprano in “Postcard from Morocco”, and Elizabeth Taylor in “Jackie O.”

Dr. Holst has appeared with organizations such as the Michigan Opera Theatre, the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston, the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra, the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra, the Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, Arbor Opera Theater, and the Bloomington Early Music Festival. She has received a number of regional and national awards including an Encouragement Award at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Regional Competition in St. Paul, Minn.

Most recently, Dr. Holst was the third place winner of the National Association of Teachers of Singing Artist Awards competition in Nashville. In addition to her work at Adrian College, Dr. Holst maintains a private studio in Ann Arbor. She is a graduate of Luther College, Indiana University and the University of Michigan.

Pianist Jeremy Reger s currently completing his Doctorate in Collaborative Piano at the University of Michigan under Martin Katz. An active coach and collaborator, Jeremy has worked with singers across the country in recitals, chamber music and opera. In August 2009, Jeremy will head to St. Paul, Minn. to begin a position as a coach/accompanist for the Minnesota Opera.

Guest soprano, Beth Major, is currently assistant professor of voice at Adrian College, where she teaches studio voice, opera workshop, diction, and vocal pedagogy. Major has appeared with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Ravinia Festival, Lake George Opera Festival and Connecticut Opera, among others. She has appeared locally with the Grand Rapids Symphony, the Detroit Symphony, the Adrian Symphony and Ann Arbor Symphony orchestras.

A sought-after teacher and guest clinician, Major has taught on the faculties of the University of Michigan and the Israel Vocal Arts Institute in Tel Aviv. Her former students have gone on to sing professionally with opera companies across the country, as well as on Broadway and in national touring companies.