Noted soprano Anita Johnson will perform selections set to Michelangelo sonnets, spirituals in first Malmgren Concert of 2008-09 season

Noted soprano Anita Johnson will perform selections set to Michelangelo sonnets, spirituals in first Malmgren Concert of 2008-09 seasonSeptember 05, 2008Kelly Homan Rodoskikahoman@syr.edu

Award-winning soprano Anita Johnson will be featured in “From Sonnets to Spirituals,” a program of vocal gems set to Michelangelo sonnets followed by a generous offering of heartwarming spirituals, on Sunday, Sept. 21, at 2 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel.

The concert is a joint presentation of Hendricks Chapel’s Malmgren Concert Series, SU’s Pulse performing arts series, Syracuse Symposium and The College of Arts and Sciences in collaboration with the Office of Alumni Relations, and is part of “Rethinking Michelangelo: A Series of Lectures, Concerts and Special Events” that complements “Michelangelo: The Man and the Myth,” an unprecedented exhibition at the SUArt Galleries through Oct. 19.

The concert is free and open to the public. Parking will be available in the University’s Q1, Q3 and Q4 lots.

Johnson will perform settings of Michelangelo sonnets by Schubert, Wolf and Britten.

Johnson has enjoyed critical and popular success both in the United States and abroad with her operatic and concert appearances. Her engagements this season include debuts with Music-Theatre Group of New York in Arjuna’s Dilemma and Brahms’ Requiem with the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra; a return to Opera Memphis in Scott Joplin and Treemonisha; and a Brahms Requiem with New York’s New Choral Society.

She has been a frequent prize winner of various vocal competitions and awards, including the national winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Audition; the Arnold Petersen Prize in Mannheim, Germany; the 2001 University of Michigan School of Music Dean Paul Boylan Distinguished Alumni Award; the Opera Index Judges’ Award; the MacAllister Awards; the Palm Beach Opera Competition; and the Liederkranz Competition.

A native of Ypsilanti, Mich., Johnson received a bachelor of music degree in voice performance from the University of Southern California and a master of music degree in voice performance and K-12 music teaching certification from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. After graduating from the University of Michigan, Johnson became a member of Opera Music Theatre International under the direction of Jerome Hines, performing extensively throughout New Jersey.

As an elementary school teacher in New Jersey and a pre-K-12 teacher at the Harlem School of the Arts, Johnson has created many performance opportunities for children, including children’s operettas and a multimedia performance of international music. Under the auspices of the Virginia Opera Company, Johnson created and performed a unique one-woman show entitled “ABCs: American Black Composers’ Contributions to Our Musical Heritage.”

The concert is part of the Malmgren Concert Series at Hendricks Chapel. The series was made possible by a gift to Hendricks Chapel from alumna Esther Malmgren ’42 in 1991. The free Sunday afternoon concerts, held throughout the year, feature a vide variety of music.

The concert is also part of “Rethinking Michelangelo,” a series of lectures, concerts and special events that complements “Michelangelo: The Man and the Myth,” an unprecedented exhibition at the SUArt Galleries now through Oct. 19. For more information, visit http://michelangelo.syr.edu.

The 2008 Syracuse Symposium invites the Syracuse University and Central New York communities to explore “migration” through engaging lectures, concerts, exhibitions and award-winning films during the semester-long intellectual and artistic festival presented by SU’s College of Arts and Sciences.

Pulse, presented by the Division of Student Affairs, seeks to raise the caliber of cultural programming while increasing the number of participating students. It programs the best offerings of local arts organizations with performances of internationally renowned visiting artists.

For more information on the concert, call Hendricks Chapel at 443-2901.