Laurie Tramuta, an adjunct lecturer of Voice in the School of Music since 1999 and a Fredonia alumna of the Class of 1982, is the recipient of the 2018 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Adjunct Teaching.
As a member of the School of Music faculty, Ms. Tramuta currently has 19 voice students from first-year through seniors, in various majors including Vocal Performance, Musical Theatre, Music Education, Applied Music and Music Therapy, for whom she creates individualized courses of study.
Tramuta began her career as a music educator in the Dunkirk Public Schools from 1984 to 1993. From 1993 until 2016, Tramuta taught vocal music for the Fredonia Central Schools, where she was responsible for all first through fifth grade weekly general music classes, conducting weekly rehearsals and concerts for the Second, Third, Fourth and Select choirs; creating the Elementary Select Choir and arranging for special performances; and instituting Third Grade Recorder Recitals.
Tramuta also spent several semesters teaching Music, Play and Self, a required course for undergraduate elementary education majors at the university, and led students in developing appropriate activities for the Chautauqua Day Care after school program.
In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Tramuta, a mezzo soprano, is an active performer in faculty recitals, Masterwork concerts, various community concerts and regional operas, including the title role of “Carmen” with the Hillman Opera and in “Maria Stuarda” and “Dialogues of the Carmelites” with Opera Sacra of Buffalo, as a soloist in J.S. Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion” with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, and in performances with the Western New York Chamber Orchestra and the Bach and Beyond Baroque Music Festival.
A former student, alumna Amanda Bottoms, who completed graduate studies at The Julliard School of Music and is a current Professional Opera Studies Certificate candidate at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, noted, “Mrs. Tramuta is an incredibly creative and resourceful teacher, never relying on gimmicks or a single formula to teach her students. Each lesson is tailored to the individual students’ needs and development, always inspiring us to be better while never sacrificing our dignity or vocal health for quick success.”
Alumna Jaclyn Rahmlow, a New York City-based singer/actress noted, “I have not met a voice teacher since graduation who can truly adapt to any student’s learning style and personality to get a significantly improved end product. A teacher who cares enough about her student’s success to be willing to search for and find another way to achieve the desired result.”
The SUNY Excellence Awards are a recognition of, and tribute to, the expertise, dedication and commitment of individuals. Award recipients personify professional excellence and serve as role models for the SUNY community. The Adjunct Teaching award recognizes dedicated adjunct faculty.
