 Gwen Detwiler |
Date: Saturday, January 30, 2010
Time: 8:00pm
Where: Rosch Recital Hall
FREE and open to the public
Saturday, Jan. 30, at 8 p.m., Gwen Detwiler will present an evening of vocal and chamber music collaborating with fellow SUNY Fredonia faculty members Anne Kissel Harper (piano), Sean Duggan (harpsichord), Natasha Farny (cello), James Kontrabecki (violin), Susan Royal (flute), Andrew Seigel (clarinet), and Janet Sung (violin).
“We are doing some great pieces,” said Dr. Coleman Detwiler, “including the Handel Gloria which was newly-discovered in 2001. It is exciting to be presenting this work for the first time at Fredonia, one which the London Times said ‘is expected to become as significant as the composer’s Messiah’.” The discovery of Handel’s Gloria by German music scholar Hans Joachim Marx was likened by The Times as “the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb for the musicologist.”
The program also includes Vivaldi’s cantata All’ombra di sospetto for soprano, flute and continuo; Schubert’s Shepherd on the Rock for soprano, clarinet and piano; R. Strauss’ Ophelia Lieder for soprano and piano; and Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 for soprano and piano.
Artist Biography:
Soprano Gwendolyn Coleman Detwiler has been praised by music critics for possessing a voice of “divine beauty” with “sparkling coloratura” and “impressive high-flying top notes.” Her solo concert work includes appearances with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, San Antonio Symphony Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, Colorado Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Opera Orchestra, Bangor Symphony Orchestra, and the Western New York Chamber Orchestra. Ms. Detwiler made her European debut as the soprano soloist for the Klassiche Musikfest’s performances of Haydn’s Die Jahreszeiten and Beethoven’s Mass in C at the Esterhazy Palace in Eisenstadt, Austria. In February of 2010, she will perform as soprano soloist with the Buffalo Philharmonic in the light-hearted cantata, Green Eggs and Ham, with text by much-loved children’s author Dr. Seuss. In May ‘10, she travels to Cocoa Beach, FL to sing the Mozart Mass in c Minor.
Dr. Detwiler has sung principal opera roles on the stages of the San Francisco Opera – Merola, San Francisco Western Opera Theatre, Central City Opera, Mercury Opera Rochester, the Kentucky Opera and the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Her opera role repertoire includes Gilda in Rigoletto, Adele in Die Fledermaus, Blonde in Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail, the Governess in Turn of the Screw, Monica in The Medium, and the title role in Cendrillon. Dr. Detwiler can be heard on the Newport Classic’s CD recording of Moore’s The Ballad of Baby Doe and as the lead role, Suleika, on Centaur Record’s world-premier recording of Schubert’s Der Graf von Gleichen.
In recital, Dr. Detwiler’s repertoire includes literature spanning Baroque chamber music, German lieder, and the modern American art song. Audiences have enjoyed her recitals at the Chautauqua Institute (NY), the Grandin Chamber Music Festival (OH), the Fitton Center for Creative Arts (OH), and in Central City, CO. In 2010, Ms. Detwiler will give a recital that will be broadcast on national radio as part of the “From the Garden LIVE” series in St. Louis, MO.
A 1999 Metropolitan Opera National Council regional winner, Dr. Detwiler has won numerous national awards for her artistry, including a MacAllister Award, the Italo Opera Award, a Presser Award, and the Naftzger Young Artists Auditions first prize. She received her vocal and opera training at Northwestern University, the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, the Central City Opera’s Young Artist Program, and the San Francisco Opera Center’s Merola Young Artist Program.
Dr. Detwiler is currently an associate professor of voice at the State University of New York at Fredonia School of Music, and she received her Doctorate of Musical Arts degree from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She maintains a vocal studio and conducts both the Women’s Choir and the Masterworks Chorus. Her vocal students have been accepted some of America’s most prestigious music graduate schools, including the Manhattan School of Music, the New England Conservatory, the Eastman School of Music, and Westminster Choir College. Dr. Detwiler was the recipient of the 2006 SUNY Fredonia “Revolutionary Woman on Campus Award” and a 2001 “Outstanding Professor Award.” She lives in Fredonia, NY with her husband and two children.
