User:Drlavonne

Drlavonne

Dr. William Lavonis holds degrees in voice, opera and musical theatre from the University of Cincinnati, Philadelphia’s University of the Arts, and Shenandoah Conservatory. He was a voice student of Barbara Honn, Harold Parker, Jackson Sheats, and the late Elena Nikolaidi and has held teaching positions at the Universities of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Northern Iowa, Southwest Missouri State, the Berkshire Choral Festival, the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and Georgia Southern University. He is now retired after 15 years as Professor of Voice and Director of Opera-Musical Theatre at UW-Milwaukee.

Lavonis has been published in the NATS and Choral Journals and he is associate editor of The Songs of Richard Faith (Leyerle Publications), producer of the companion CD recording Remember Me (on Amazon) and the main author of the Wikipedia article on Faith. His book entitled A Study in Native American Singing and Song is published by the Edwin Mellen Press. His most recent venture is the composition of both the libretto and music to a new opera based on the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings during the French Revolution.

A native of South Jersey, Bill made his professional singing debut at New York’s Avery Fisher Hall with the American Symphony Orchestra in Israel in Egypt and has performed over 100 leading and supporting roles in opera and musical theatre throughout the United States. He has appeared with the Santa Fe Desert Chorale and has been heard in recital and oratorio on Wisconsin Public Radio, in New York City and at the Berkshire Choral Festival where he was a faculty member for ten years. Other notable performances include a recital of works by Poulenc with Dalton Baldwin, and duet recitals with his partner, baritone, Kurt Ollmann.

Bill currently maintains a small private voice studio in Savannah, GA.

PUBLICATIONS/RECORDINGS/EDITING RICHARD FAITH, Fall 2011 Wikipedia Article

NATS JOURNAL OF SINGING, Oct 2008 Article, co-authored with Valerie Errante: “University/Collegiate Master Class: The Combined Studio Model”

Consulted on new vocal compositions by Josh Schmidt, A MOMENT’S VIGIL and ROUTINE, Dec 2008 CD--THE NIGHTENGALE by Imant Ramnish, Fall 2005 CD issued by Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus of United States premiere performance in which I played the role of DEATH

CHORAL JOURNAL OF SINGING, Fall 2005 “You pray double when you sing,” A Study in Native American Singing and Song”

L’ORMINDO by Cavalli, Editing, translating, arranging of vocal, choral and string parts from the original operatic manuscript and Faustini libretto for UWM opera production, Summer 2005

NATS JOURNAL OF SINGING, March/April 2004 “You pray double when you sing” A Study in Native American Singing and Song

CD-- “Remember Me,” Songs by Richard Faith Producer and performer; edreams Studio (Daniel Gnader), Milwaukee, WI, Fall 2001

NATS JOURNAL OF SINGING, Fall 1994 Article: “The Songs of Richard Faith”

Leyerle Publications, Geneseo, NY: THE SONGS OF RICHARD FAITH, Volume II for Low Voice, 2003 THE SONGS OF RICHARD FAITH, Volume III for Low Voice, 2001 THE SONGS OF RICHARD FAITH, Volume III for High Voice, 2001 THE SONGS OF RICHARD FAITH, Volume II for High Voice, 1997 (Volume includes a song-setting of my poem “Winter Journey”) THE SONGS OF RICHARD FAITH, Volume I for Low Voice, 1995 Author of the foreword and collaborative editor THE SONGS OF RICHARD FAITH, Volume I for High Voice, 1993

Reviewed in the NATS JOURNAL OF SINGING, May 1997

My articles and dissertation on Richard Faith are quoted and cited in the chapter “American Song” in SONG, A GUIDE TO STYLE AND LITERATURE, by Carol Kimball; Pst...Inc, Seattle; 1996

GRANTS Chautauqua Institute, 2001 $4000 for producing Richard Faith CD University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 1998-99

William F. Vilas Trust, $17,000 A CELEBRATION OF FRANCIS POULENC University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2000-2001

One semester Sabbatical, Fall 2008 Project: Trends in Collegiate Musical Theatre Programs Vocal Technique for Musical Theatre

One year Sabbatical 2000 Project: A Study in Native American Singing and Song CD Recording of The Songs of Richard Faith

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, 1995 $1000 Faculty Development to attend THE RICHARD MILLER VOCAL WORKSHOP held at Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff

Chautauqua Institute, 1994 $3000 to help complete the publication of THE SONGS OF RICHARD FAITH, Volumes II and III

MISCELLANEOUS (Papers, Lectures, Projects, etc.) NATIVE AMERICAN SINGING AND SONG Songs Unlimited, Conway, Arkansas, Songs of the American West Festival, March 2011

RICHARD FAITH—Eightieth Birthday Celebration, UW-Milwaukee, Spring 2007 Week-long celebration of concerts, lectures, and masterclasses on the works of American composer Richard Faith

TIPS FOR CHORAL CONDUCTORS FROM A VOICE TEACHER Lecture presented at the UWM/Hal Leonard Summer Choral Institute, 1996-98

RICHARD FAITH--THE FIRST SEVENTY YEARS University of Evansville, IN. March 1996 Week-long celebration of concerts, lectures, and masterclasses on the works of American composer Richard Faith

BERKSHIRE CHORAL FESTIVAL LECTURES:

“You pray double when you sing” A STUDY IN NATIVE AMERICAN SINGING AND SONG Berkshire Choral Festival Santa Fe, 2001, 2002

“Tips for Choral Conductors from a Voice Teacher.” Presented at the Berkshire Choral Festival, Sheffield, MA. 1995, 1997; Santa Fe, NM. 1999 “King David in Music.” Presented at the Berkshire Choral Festival, Sheffield, MA. 1998

“Dvorak’s American Experience.” Presented at the Berkshire Choral Festival, Sheffield, MA. 1993, 1995, 1998

“The Songs of Richard Faith.” Presented at the Berkshire Choral Festival, Sheffield, MA. 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998

“Pre-Schubert Lieder Composers: Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven.” Presented at The Berkshire Choral Festival, Sheffield, MA. 1994, 1997

“Early Schubert Lieder” Presented at the Berkshire Choral Festival, Sheffield, MA. 1995, 1997

“The Canticles of Benjamin Britten” Presented at The Berkshire Choral Festival, Sheffield, MA. 1996

“The Mastersingers.” Presented at the Berkshire Choral Festival, Sheffield, MA. 1997

“Solo Vocal Music of the Baroque.” Presented at the Berkshire Choral Festival, Santa Fe, NM. 1996

“St. Joan of Arc in Music.” Presented at the Berkshire Choral Festival, Sheffield, MA. 1996

“The Songs of Borodin, Moussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Tchaikovsky.” Presented at the Berkshire Choral Festival, Sheffield, MA. 1996

“The French Influence in the Music of Ralph Vaughan Williams” Presented at the Berkshire Choral Festival, Sheffield, MA. 1994, 1995 DMA Lecture Recital Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, 1990

“The Songs of Rachmaninoff.” Presented at the Berkshire Choral Festival, Sheffield, MA. 1992, 1993 “The Songs of Edvard Grieg.” Presented at the Berkshire Choral Festival, Sheffield, MA. 1992; The Sons of Norway Convention, Stevens Point, WI. 1993

MUSIC FROM THE HOLOCAUST A touring lecture-recital featuring songs written by Jewish composers imprisoned at Theresienstadt, Auschwitz, and Treblinka--a joint effort on a doctoral topic conceived by oboist, Susan Eischeid, 1990