Tenor Stephen Oosting, a Grand Rapids native now teaching at Montclair State University, will perform Franz Schubert's "Die Winterreise" on Friday, Oct. 20, at 8 p.m. at Hope College in Wichers Auditorium of Nykerk Hall of Music.
Tenor Stephen Oosting, a Grand Rapids native now teaching at Montclair State University, will perform Franz Schubert's "Die Winterreise" on Friday, Oct. 20, at 8 p.m. at Hope College in Wichers Auditorium of Nykerk Hall of Music.
He will be accompanied by pianist Arlene Shrut, who is on the faculty of The Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music. Shrut will be leading a master class the previous day, on Thursday, Oct. 19, at 11 a.m. in Snow Auditorium of Nykerk Hall.
The public is invited to both events. Admission is free.
Oosting attended both Michigan State University and the University of Michigan as an undergraduate, and completed his doctorate at the Eastman School of Music. He has had an extensive career as a performer, in both opera and concert work. He has sung more than 30 roles with opera companies around the country, appearing in leading roles in "Don Giovanni," "Magic Flute," "Cosi fan tutte," "La Boheme," "Madame Butterfly," and many other operas. He has also sung the lead tenor roles in "H.M.S. Pinafore," "Gondoliers" and "Princess Ida."
Oosting has recorded for the R.C.A., Newport Classic and Albany labels. His most recent CD is a recording of "Into Eclipse" for tenor and chamber orchestra by the late American composer, Stephen Albert. He is currently on the voice faculty at Montclair State University.
Shrut has been hailed as a "strong and sensitive pianist" by the "New York Times," and was honored in 2003 as the inaugural "Coach of the Year" in "Classical Singer Magazine." She has collaborated with vocal artists such as Renee Fleming and Thomas Hampson, and has recorded on the Dorian, Centaur, Orion, Summit and Albany Records labels. Among her credits is "Songs of Hugo Wolf," with Daniel Lichti on Dorian CDs, which received a Canadian Grammy nomination.
She often serves as official pianist for many of New York's top vocal events and has performed in venues such as Weill (Carnegie) Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the National Gallery, the Phillips Collection and the Kennedy Center. She has toured extensively in Europe and across North America.
Shrut is a member of the vocal arts faculty at The Juilliard School, and teaches singer-pianist recital partners at Manhattan School of Music. She is founder and artistic director of New Triad for Collaborative Arts, and also founded the National Association of Accompanists and Coaches and co-founded the Seal Bay Festival in Maine.
She earned two solo piano degrees from the Eastman School of Music and a doctorate in accompanying from the University of Southern California.
The Oct. 19-20 presentations are being made in conjunction with Calvin College and Grand Valley State University, with support from Hope's Cultural Affairs Committee and Department of Modern and Classical Languages.
Nykerk Hall of Music is located in the central Hope campus along the former 12th Street between College and Columbia avenues.