ANN ARBOR, Mich./ Aug. 3, 2005 – Soprano Constance Rock will perform at Concordia University-Ann Arbor (CUAA) as part of the new cua2rts series on Sunday, Sept. 18 at 4 p.m. in the Chapel of the Holy Trinity.
Rock “is a a joy to listen to” hails the Hartford Courant review of her performance as soloist in Britten’s War Requiem, under the direction of Larry Allen. Recently Rock performed in the role of Lucia, in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor with the New Britain Opera. Her performance was described by the Hartford Courant as, “riveting…fascinating…her high D’s, E-flat’s and E’s rang out beautifully clear.”
Highlights of her operatic performances include appearances with the Connecticut Opera, Connecticut Concert Opera, Opera Theatre of Connecticut, and the Blossom Music Festival hosted by the Cleveland Orchestra. Her operatic repertoire includes Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto, Violetta in Verdi’s La Traviata, Pamina in Mozart’s Die Zauberflote, Konstanze in Mozart’s Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail, Giulietta in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffman, Norina in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Elisa in Mozart’s Il Re Pastore, Micaela in Bizet’s Carmen, Maguerite in Boito’s Mefistophele, Ginevra in Handel’s Ariodante, and Marenka in Smetana’s The Bartered Bride.
In demand as a concert and oratorio singer, Rock’s oratorio performances have included Beethoven’s Mass in C for the International Beethoven Symposium, Vivaldi’s Gloria with the New York Choral Arts Society, Dvorak’s Te Deum with the Nebraska Chamber Orchestra and Chorus and Gorecke’s Third Symphony with the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra. Rock was also a featured soloist in a lecture on the music of Handel presented by Michael Lankester, former conductor of the Hartford Symphony.
The recipient of many awards, Rock was a five-time winner of the District Metropolitan Opera Auditions and placed among the top five winners for three years at the Upper Midwest Regional Metropolitan Opera Auditions in Minneapolis. She was a first place winner in the Midwest Regional auditions of the Merola Opera Program in Denver sponsored by the San Francisco Opera and first place winner of the Amici Vocal Competition. She has also been a finalist in the Connecticut Opera Guild Auditions and the National Association of Teachers of Singing Competition.
Sought after for her expertise in vocal pedagogy, Rock is an assistant professor of voice at the University of Connecticut.
Tickets are for adults, for seniors (60+), for students and for children (12 and under) and can be purchased through the Kreft Center Box Office by calling (734) 995-4612. The box office is open Monday through Friday from noon – 4 p.m. The Chapel of the Holy Trinity is located on Concordia’s campus at 4090 Geddes Road just west of US 23 in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Concordia University–Ann Arbor is a liberal arts institution of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. With a distinctly Christian environment and an academic community dedicated to excellence, CUAA offers a broad range of undergraduate and graduate degree programs through its four schools – School of Arts and Sciences, School of Education, Haab School of Business and Management, and the School of Adult and Continuing Education. CUAA is accredited by NCA, the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, was among the first colleges to be accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) under the new 2000 standards and is listed as one of America’s Best Private Colleges®. For more information on Concordia University-Ann Arbor, visit: www.cuaa.edu.
The cua2rts program, which launches this fall, strives to make Concordia a regional destination for the arts while stimulating the artistic, intellectual and creative experiences of students and community. The series will include art exhibitions, concerts, lectures, dance performances, book reviews and theatrical performances by artists from around the world and Concordia’s own students and faculty.
