Jessica Paul and company to host opening segment of “Art Song Jamboree” series Oct. 13
Jessica Paul, Luther College associate professor of music, will host the first of the four-part music performance series titled “Art Song Jamboree.” The performance will be held Monday, Oct. 13 at 5:15 p.m. in the Center for Faith and Life Recital Hall on the Luther College campus.
The performance is free of admission and open to the public.
This is the third straight year that Luther College has put on the Art Song series. This year’s series is dedicated to the exploration of art song by women composers of the past and present. Performers in each “Jam program” are a mix of vocal students under the direction of Paul and voices of Luther music faculty.
The program Monday will feature ten student performers: Laura Fuller and Laura Krumm, mezzo-sopranos; Kristin Roble, Elizabeth Jeddeloh, Heidi Smorstad and Maggie Boland, sopranos; Matthew Myers, Ryan Deignan and Tyler Best, tenors; and Andrew Stoneking, baritones. Also featured are Luther faculty Tana Field, mezzo-soprano and Karen Kanakis, soprano.
Paul has been the creator and lead advocate of the Art Song series. She says it is the brainchild of her research and her mission to find art song written by women composers of all eras, musical styles, languages and nationalities. This year’s program series includes several women composers from the International Alliance of Women in Music and artists from around the globe. Other program dates include Nov. 10, Feb. 23 and Mar. 16.
Paul, a native of Chicago, holds the bachelor of music in piano performance from Northwestern University. Paul earned the master of music and doctor of musical arts degrees in vocal coaching and accompanying at the University of Illinois.
She is frequently engaged as a collaborative pianist and guest clinician, and she has worked with such opera companies as the Pittsburgh Opera Theatre, Opera Theatre of Illinois, National Opera Company, Cleveland Opera Theatre, Virginia Opera Association, Lake George Opera Festival, Cedar Rapids Opera, and Pine Mountain Music Festival.
She is the former Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of the Dorian Opera Theatre. She is currently associate professor of music at Luther, where she serves as a vocal coach, collaborative pianist, and teacher of accompanying.