Enjoy an Evening at the Opera

Young Harris College and president John W. Wells are proud to announce the Atlanta Opera Quartet will be performing on campus March 5, 2007 at 8:00 p.m. in the Hilda D. Glenn Auditorium. This performance is open to the public and free of admission.

Members of the Atlanta Opera Quartet include soprano Rebecca Kier, mezzo-soprano Susan Nicely, tenor William Martin, and baritone Brent Davis. Piano accompaniment will be provided by Craig Kier.

Rebecca Kier, who sings soprano for the Atlanta Opera Quartet, holds a Bachelor of Music from theUniversity of Delaware and a Master of Music from the University of Cincinnati College - Conservatory of Music. Kier has performed with Opera North and Opera Theatre and Music Festival of Lucca, Italy. Kier is currently the Adjunct Professor of Voice at the Georgia Institute of Technology and resides in Atlanta, Georgia. She has studied with Dr. Melanie DeMent, William McGraw, Dr. Robert C. White, Jr., Barbara Honn, and Dr. Marilyn Taylor.

Mezzo-soprano Susan Nicely has performed nationally and internationally. In the United States, Nicely has performed with Opera Pacific, Dallas Opera, Palm Beach Opera, and Toledo Opera. She made her European debut in Strasbourg, France, performing with Opera du Rhine. She debuted in South America performing with Opera Breve in Caracas, Venezuela. She has also performed with San Francisco Opera, New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and Cincinnati Opera. Upcoming engagements include performances with Florentine Opera, Dallas Opera,Chautauqua Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, and Opera Omaha.

Tenor William Martin has been a featured soloist with the Asheville Symphony and also regularly performs with the Asheville Lyric Opera and Asheville Choral Society. Active as a recitalist and clinician, he holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, where he was a district winner of the Metropolitan Opera Competition. Martin has appeared with the Chicago Opera Theatre, the Grant Park Symphony, the Milwaukee Opera Company, the Light Opera Works of Evanston, the Ohio Light Opera Festival, and the Marriott Lincolnshire Dinner Theatre. He currently serves on the faculty of Western Carolina University's Department of Music and resides in Cullowhee, North Carolina.

Baritone Brent Davis has performed with the Mobile Opera, Atlanta Lyric Theatre, Asheville Lyric Opera, and Columbus Symphony Orchestra. Davis received his training in opera from University ofIllinois at Urbana- Champaign, studying with Jerold Siena, Eric Dalheim, and John Wustman. He has been a finalist with the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Mobile Opera, Orpheus, Opera Birmingham Competitions, Florida Grand Opera Resident Artist Program, and the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program. He has been an Apprentice Artist with Des Moines Metro Opera.

Pianist Craig Kier is the resident principal coach and accompanist for the Atlanta Opera Quartet. A member of the Seattle Opera music staff for two years as coach/accompanist, chorus master, and assistant conductor, Kier has also been a member of the Cincinnati Opera, Opera Colorado, Berkshire Opera, New Jersey Opera Theatre, and Des Moines Metro Opera. He has been a faculty member of the Colorado College Vocal Arts Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado, andClayton College and State University in Atlanta, Georgia. Kier holds a Bachelor of Music Education from the State University of New York College, Fredonia, New York, and a Master of Music degree in Accompanying from the University of Cincinnati College- Conservatory of Music. Teachers and mentors include Kenneth Griffiths, Donna Loewy, and Dean Williamson.

Founded in 1886, Young Harris College is a private, core liberal arts college focused on university preparation. Historically affiliated with The United Methodist Church, a primary goal of Young Harris College is to provide a quality education for the whole person: intellectually, socially, culturally, and spiritually. To learn more about Young Harris College, visit us at www.yhc.edu.