UND alumna and chair of voice faculty at The Boston Conservatory Patty Thom to offer Master Class to students during Homecoming Week

David L. Dodds

Document Type

News Article

Publication Date

10-8-2013

Campus Unit

College of Arts & Sciences

Abstract

Patty Thom, chair of the voice & opera faculty at The Boston Conservatory and a University of North Dakota alumna, will be a guest of the UND Music Department on Friday, Oct. 11, when she will give a special Homecoming Week Master Class to UND music students.

The Master Class will be held in the UND Hughes Fine Arts Center's Josephine Campbell Recital Hall beginning shortly after 3 p.m., Friday. The event is free and open to the public to sit in on Thom's Master Class and to meet her.

"UND Music is excited that Ms. Thom is returning to UND for homecoming and has generously offered to share her expertise and artistry with our students," said Royce Blackburn, Und associate professor of music. "This is a rare opportunity for our students to learn so much from Ms. Thom, who teaches at one of America's premier conservatories of music."

About Patty Thom:

Patty Thom earned a B.M. from UND and a M.M. from Boston University. She also trained at L'Ecole Hindemith in Vevey, Switzerland and studied Korean language at the Monterey Institute for International Studies (California). Thom studied voice with Joan Heller, Phyllis Curtin and Richard Cassilly and acting and voice training with Kristin Linklater, Brent Blair and Christopher von Baeyer. She studied piano with Carmen Leerstang, Allen Rogers and Anthony DiBonaventura and was a student in masterclasses with Arlene Auger, Carlo Bergonzi, Helen Boatwright, Hugues Cuenod, Irwin Gage (Cleveland Art Song Festival), Margo Garrett, Benjamin Luxon and David Willison.

Thom has given recitals and performances throughout the U.S., Canada, Switzerland, India, Indonesia, New Zealand and Asia and served as artistic ambassador for the United States Information Agency. She has premiered new works for the composers' consortia NuClassix, Extension Works and Underground Composers. Thom has been trained in Linklater work (Freeing the Natural Voice) and yoga (Kripalu) as well as Alexander® Technique, Feldenkrais and Trager practices. She is former musical staff at Boston University and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute's Young Artists' Vocal Program. She is also the former music director at the Walnut Hill School, where she was the director of the New England Conservatory (NEC)/Walnut Hill Joint Program. She has been chair of Voice and Opera at The Boston Conservatory since 2003.

About The Boston Conservatory:

The Boston Conservatory was founded in 1867 by Julius Eichberg to serve as both a professional training academy and community music school. Eichberg, a gifted violinist and composer, brought with him the spirit and musical practices flourishing in the great conservatories of Brussels, Paris, Prague, London, and Vienna—but with a difference. From the very start, the Conservatory broke new ground by opening its doors to women and African Americans, people with few professional opportunities in classical music at the time. The Conservatory is also credited with several other important "firsts." After merging with the National Associated Studios of Music at the start of the 20th century, The Boston Conservatory expanded its offerings in several innovative ways. The Conservatory incorporated dance and theater training into its curriculum, created the first "grand opera" department in the United States, and developed the first professional training program in dance to offer equal emphasis on European classical ballet and the uniquely American forms of modern dance. Today, The Boston Conservatory is an independent private college with fully accredited programs in music, dance and theater. Our student and faculty performances are a consistent and valued part of Boston's cultural life. Our community service program allows us to reach out beyond our walls to various constituencies across the city. Our success is visible both in the learning environment, and in the professional accomplishments of our graduates.

The Boston Conservatory is internationally recognized as an innovative leader among conservatory programs, focused on elevating and celebrating every aspect of the performing arts. The institution has established itself as an important voice in the movement to make all forms of performing arts a more visible and valued dimension of communities here and abroad.

The institution holds its faculty, staff, and students to the highest standards of performance on stage, in the classroom, and at every step in the creative journey. It weaves together distinct disciplines and curricula in music, dance and theater in order to create a unique learning experience. The students, faculty, staff and trustees of The Boston Conservatory embrace the critical role of performance throughout life. Its graduates are prepared not simply to excel in their artistic careers, but to invest themselves fully in lives of engagement and purpose. Every member of the community strives to create value for all the constituencies the institution serves. All understand that their contributions are essential to the Conservatory's mission.

The alumni are proud of their involvement with the school, playing an active role in its evolution while acknowledging its impact through the course of their lives. Like the community that surrounds the school, the alumni view The Boston Conservatory as a vital contributor to the city and to the world at large.

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