Back to List

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Shirley Freyer
Concordia Lutheran Ministries
Tel: 1-724-352-1571 x8266
sfreyer@concordialm.org

Concordia to Host International Musicians/SRU Professors

Cabot, PA – Concordia Lutheran Ministries will host noted vocalist Colleen Gray, DMA and pianist Nanette Kaplan Solomon, DMA for a concert on Tuesday, June 9 at 7:00 p.m. in the Concordia Social Hall in the Haven I building on Marwood Rd., Jefferson Twp. Both are on faculty at the Slippery Rock University music department.

The theme of the performance will be “Music from around the World,” as the duo will include some favorite American and European art songs by various composers including Purcell, Schumann, Schubert, Faure, Debussy and Poulenc. The pair will be performing a program of Croatian arias and piano works in Zagreb, Croatia in July, so many of those works will also be performed.

Gray will give some background and translation for each song to enhance the enjoyment of the audience, and the program will end with some lighter Neapolitan, jazz and musical theater numbers. Refreshments will be served.

The concert is free and open to the community. To pre-register or receive additional information, call the Haven Program Director at 724.352.1571, ext. 8518.

Colleen Gray Bio

Dr. Colleen Gray, soprano, is an Associate Professor of Music at Slippery Rock University where she teaches Applied Voice, Language Diction, Vocal Pedagogy and Opera Performance. She holds the DMA in Vocal Performance and Literature degree from West Virginia University, the MM in Vocal Performance degree from Duquesne University and the BS in Music Education from West Chester State College. She also holds a performance certificate from the Accademia Vocale di Lucca, Italy and has completed an apprenticeship with the Pittsburgh Opera Center. Dr. Gray’s awards include winning the Delaware Jewish Community Center Emerging Artists Competition and the Pittsburgh Concert Society Artist Competition.

Dr. Gray has performed with regional opera companies in the United States, including the Pittsburgh Opera.  Her appearances with symphony include performances of Verdi’s Requiem, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor, Respighi’s Laud to the Nativity, Debussy’s La Damoiselle élue, Schubert’s Mass in G, Beethoven’s Mass in C minor and Handel’s Messiah.  She has been a frequent presenter for music conferences, with lecture-recital performances at College Music Society international conferences in Japan, Ireland, Costa Rica, Spain and Thailand as well as numerous College Music Society national conferences. This summer she will present a recital of Croatian arias for the College Music Society conference in Zagreb, Croatia.

Nanette Kaplan Solomon Bio

Dr. Nanette Kaplan Solomon, Professor of Piano, has been on the faculty of Slippery Rock University since 1977, where she coordinates the piano program and teaches Music History, Music Skills, and Women in Music classes. An active performer, she has appeared in such prestigious venues as the Phillips Collection and the French Embassy in Washington, D.C., as well as Wigmore Hall in London, England. As an orchestral soloist, she has performed with the Youngstown and Pittsburgh Symphonies, and was chosen as a featured performer in the Pittsburgh Symphony's "Search for a Star" held at Heinz Hall under the auspices of Marvin Hamlisch and the Pittsburgh Pops.

She has given numerous lecture-recitals and presentations at national and international conferences in Berlin, Germany, Vienna, Austria, Kyoto, Japan, Limerick, Ireland, and San Jose, Costa Rica. She also has been invited to perform at many women and music conferences throughout the United States. Active in a number of professional music organizations, Dr. Solomon is a past board member for performance for the College Music Society, served on the editorial board of the American Music Teacher (the journal of Music Teachers National Association), is a current board member of the International Association of Women in Music, and Vice-President of the Pennsylvania Music Teachers Association. Her three compact discs—Music for Solo Piano and Violin and Piano by Nikolai Lopatnikoff, (Laurel 846), Character Sketches: Solo Piano Works by Seven American Women (Leonarda 334), and Sunbursts: Solo Piano Works by Seven American Women (Leonarda 345)—have received critical acclaim and wide airplay on radio stations across the country. Dr. Solomon attended the Pre-College division of the Juilliard School, graduated magna cum laude from Yale College, and holds a M.M. degree from the Yale School of Music and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Boston University.