Metropolitan Opera star Janet Hopkins will present “Confronting Social Norms Through Music,” a lecture recital by mezzo-soprano Hopkins and pianist Armen Shaomian on Monday, March 2 at 7:30 p.m. in the Kossen Auditorium in Poindexter Hall on the campus of Mississippi University for Women. The event is free and open to the public.
The duo from the University of South Carolina will present a collection of works by living, contemporary American composers and will cover an array of themes related to political to societal issues communicated through music.
“We are honored to have artists of such stature perform for our university and Columbus community,” said Julia Mortyakova, chair of the Department of Music.
Hopkins is also giving a masterclass to W music majors on Monday at 1 p.m. in Kossen Auditorium. This event is also free and open to the public.
Hopkins is a 16-year veteran soloist of the Metropolitan opera where she performed in “Die Walkure,” “Der Rosenkavalier,” “Katya Kabanova,” “Die Frau ohne Schatten” and “Elektra, Jenufa,” among many others. She performed three tours in Japan for “Der Rosenkavalier,” “Die Walkure” and “Rigoletto.”
Hopkins has appeared at Carnegie Hall and at the opening ceremonies of the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. Her recordings include “The Ghosts of Versailles” and Elektra DVDs, along with 13 performances over the Texaco Broadcast “Live from the Met” series.
In 2013, Hopkins performed “Sue” in Robert Bradshaw’s recording of his new opera “Plastic.” Solo recordings available include Ulysses Kay: Works for Chamber Orchestra and Soprano, “When I have Sung my Songs,” and “ARIA.”
Hopkins holds a bachelor of music degree in music education, cum laude, and a master of arts degree in vocal performance, cum laude, from the State University of New York, Potsdam, New York. She joined the University of South Carolina School of Music in 2008 and is associate professor of Voice in the School of Music. For more information, visit janetehopkins.com
About Shaomian
Armen Shaomian, DMA, is an associate professor in the Department of Sport and Entertainment at the University of South Carolina and is currently serving as the president of the Music and Entertainment Industry Educators Association. He is the founder and CEO of Armenize Inc., an arts consulting agency specializing in nonprofit arts management and foundational strategies.
Prior work includes programs manager/associate producer for the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts and its signature YoungArts program. He is an active concert pianist and has performed numerous concerts at venues in Europe and the United States. He has authored a book on Swedish National Romantic Music and his piano recordings of composer Hugo Alfven are featured on Vax Records’ Vaxholm – Ett Dubbelnoje.
Shaomian holds a master and doctor of musical arts degrees in accompanying and chamber music with cognates in music business and entertainment industries from the University of Miami, and a bachelor of music degree in piano performance from Wayne State University. He also served as faculty at the University of Miami Frost School of Music’s graduate program in Arts Presenting.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.