College of Arts and Communication, Department of Music

(WHITEWATER, WIS.)— The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Department of Music continues its virtual event offerings with the next concert in the Music Mosaics series, titled “A Night at the Opera”. All proceeds from the Music Mosaic series go directly towards scholarships for Department of Music students. This virtual performance will take place on March 2 at 7:30 p.m. Ticket prices are $13 for a single viewer ticket and $26 for a family viewing ticket for two or more. Tickets are on sale and can be purchased online at tickets.uww.edu or by calling (262) 472-2222. Although tickets must be purchased by March 2, the content will be available through March 15, 2021 for viewing.

“A Night at the Opera” features UW-Whitewater voice and piano faculty performing their favorite arias from opera works by Handel, Mozart, Wagner, Strauss, Thomas, Massenet, Donizetti, Puccini, Stravinsky, and more. Performers include Brian Leeper, baritone; Jessica Schwefel, mezzo-soprano; Adam Shelton, tenor; Rachel Wood, mezzo-soprano; and MyungHee Chung, piano.

“Although the COVID-19 pandemic has forced artists to reimagine the performance experience, we are excited to continue to share our art with the Whitewater community and beyond. Even without the staging, the costumes, or the live audience, the glorious music and powerful stories stand on their own, and we have the opportunity to present them in a completely unique way. Most importantly, though, we are doing so safely: all of the performances you will see were recorded in real time in separate spaces using low-latency technology” says Wood. Dr. Wood has appeared in opera, concert, and recital performances across Canada, the United States, Italy, and the Netherlands. She has performed the title role in “The Rape of Lucretia”, La Natura and Endimione (“La Calisto”), and Penelope (“Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria”), Dorabella (“Così fan tutte”), Zita (“Gianni Schicchi”), La Zia Principessa (“Suor Angelica”), and Alma March (“Little Women”). Other opera credits include Madame de Croissy (“Dialogues des Carmélites”), Cornelia (“Giulio Cesare”), and Dame Doleful in the Canadian premiere of “Too Many Sopranos”.

The music has gone on at UW-Whitewater in a big way with the help of a program called SoundJack. “SoundJack is a low-latency audio platform that allows musicians to collaborate in real-time over the internet. Unlike other popular online platforms such as Zoom, Soundack reduces the latency to an imperceptible amount. UW-Whitewater faculty use SoundJack to safely teach applied lessons, hold rehearsals, and to collaborate on recordings and performances like this one,” says Wood. SoundJack is being used at UW-Whitewater in a variety of ways by the Department of Music and also to aid in the Department of Theatre/Dance production of “Antigone” which also releases in March. 

Faculty performers Wood, Leeper, Shelton, Schwefel and Chung have an impressive list of credits to their name. 

Baritone Brian Leeper joined the music faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in 2004. He currently teaches Studio Voice, Meistersingers Choir and directs the Opera Workshop.  An active soloist and clinician, he also presents masterclasses and recitals at Universities across the US and abroad. He is also on the voice faculties of two international opera programs in Italy; FIO-Italia and Opera festival di Roma. Equally at home with Oratorio and Opera, Mr. Leeper has performed over twenty major operatic roles, including a national radio broadcast concert performance of Candide with the Cleveland Orchestra.  He has appeared as soloist in oratorio with conductors Leon Botstein, Robert Page, Weston Noble and Vance George. Most recent solo appearances include Brahms Deutches Requiem, Elijah, The Creation, the St. John Passion, Messiah, Don Pasquale, L’Elisir d’amore and Die Fledermaus.

Shelton is a  Wisconsin transplant from Tennessee and is a singer, teacher and director. Shelton has performed with Madison Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Madison Savoyards, Music Theatre of Madison, Four Seasons Theatre, Soo Symphony & Opera, MidColumbia Mastersingers & Orchestra, La Musica Lirica, Arizona Opera, Knoxville Opera, and Opera For the Young.  Career highlights include:  Frederic in “The Pirates of Penzance”, The Magician in “The Consul”, Alfred in “Die Fledermaus”, Ferrando in “Così fan tutte”, Lyric Tenor in Argento’s “Postcard from Morocco”, the title role in Mascagni’s “L’amico Fritz”, Don José in “Carmen”, and Nemorino in Donizetti’s “L’Elisir d’Amore.” 

Mezzo soprano Dr. Jessica Schwefel has performed in over 30 operatic productions with Madison Opera, Opera for the Young, Fresco Opera Theatre, UW Opera, Music By The Lake, among others. Dr. Schwefel has also been a member of the Florentine Opera Chorus since 2008, where she has been involved in a number of productions and outreach performances. She also participated in the Florentine’s recordings of “Elmer Gantry” and “Rio de Sangre”, which collectively earned three Grammy Awards in 2012 and 2013. Her involvement with the Florentine Opera’s production and recording of “Prince of Players”in 2018 culminated in two Grammy award nominations in 2021. Solo concert performances include engagements with the Oshkosh Chamber Singers, UW Summer Choir, South Shore Chorale, UW Choral Union, UW Symphony Orchestra, UW-Oshkosh Choirs, and UW-Oshkosh Symphony Orchestra. Her singing has also been heard on WPR programs such as “University of the Air”, “On Higher Ground” and “The Midday.”  

Dr. Chung has performed extensively throughout the United States, Mexico, Canada, and Asia.  She has soloed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Portland Symphony Orchestra, New Philharmonic Orchestra, and Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra.  She has performed as a member of Seraphin Trio at the University of New Mexico for 4 years and with the UW-Whitewater Piano Trio since 1999. Dr. Chung is a recipient of numerous national and international awards, including first prize at the 1977 William Kapell Maryland International Piano Competition, Chicago Symphony Orchestra Young Performer’s Competition, Portland Symphony Orchestra Competition, and The Juilliard Concerto Competition.  She was a prizewinner in the 1980 Gina Bachauer International Competition and a finalist in the 1981 Busoni International Competition. 

“A Night at the Opera” virtual performance will take place on March 2 at 7:30 p.m. Ticket prices are $13 for a single viewer ticket and $26 for a family viewing ticket for two or more. Tickets are on sale and can be purchased online at tickets.uww.edu or by calling (262) 472-2222. Although tickets must be purchased by March 2, this content will be available through March 15, 2021 for viewing.