4/18/21 UAF Opera Workshop Presents: Gilbert & Sullivan
On Sunday April 18, 2021 at 7:30PM the UAF Opera Workshop presents: Gilbert & Sullivan. Tune in to the UAF Department of Music Facebook Page for the livestream!
"Hi there my name is Jaunelle Celaire, Chair of the Music Department and Professor of Voice here at UAF. I can’t believe we actually have a finishing product! What do I mean when I say that? Well, we have been working on this project for almost 2 years. Initially this concert was supposed to happen in April 2020 but of course as you know COVID changed our plans. Classes were put online shortly after spring break and all performance opportunities for musicians were basically ceased at a national and international level. That meant, this performance which we had been rehearsing since September 2019, was put on hold until we could figure out a way to make this happen.
Well here we are! A year and a half later we have finally managed to figure out how to do this! We were all pretty passionate about getting this particular program out into the community. It’s a lot of fun and witty music! The students are able to play characters that they have never played before and we found an opportunity to sing through a global pandemic! Now our faces may look a little bit different in this performance, however the music and the text still speaks the same. Music is an important language and this group of students that you’re about to see are a pretty special group of individuals, passionate about teaching and performance!
Now let me elaborate a little more about this process! As I said, the Music was chosen in July 2019; rehearsed in fall 2019, blocked and staged from November 2019-March 2020; COVID hit in March and then we didn’t see each other again until August 2020, when we returned to an in-person department. The Celaire Studio applied for an URSA grant in the fall of 2020 which was a proposal to film our entire performance to use for recruiting and finally a performance in April 2021! We had to change our blocking on stage to incorporate social distancing and COVID protocols for and during performance."
Meet Dr. Jaunelle Celaire
Lyric-soprano, Jaunelle Roberta Celaire enjoys a musical career as a teacher, soloist,
conductor and performer. Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Celaire is internationally
known; performing music that ranges from cabaret to music theatre and from solo recitals
to opera. She has made solo appearances with several orchestras across the nation
including, the Maumee Symphony Orchestra and the Lima Symphony Orchestra. Other appearances
include the University of Michigan Symphony Band, as Musetta, in La Bohême, and the University of Michigan Symphony, premiering the role of the Old Woman, in
a One Act Blues Opera, De Organizer by James P. Johnson, performed at Orchestra Hall in Detroit, Michigan. Celaire made
her debut with the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra in Fairbanks, Alaska, in April 2004,
singing the soprano role in Orff’s Carmina Burana, and sang Micaela in Bizet’s opera, Carmen in April 2005.
The UAF Music Department
The UAF Department of Music strives to prepare its students for 21st century musical careers by providing a rigorous coursework curriculum and opportunities for a variety of musical experiences and numerous community partnerships. The UAF Music Department is a cultural hub of Fairbanks and by extension the rest of Alaska. It provides graduating students with performance and educational skills in preparation for the workforce in Alaska and beyond, as well as a broad skill-set of knowledge to meet the needs of an ever-changing world. Graduates of our program go on to diverse careers in music, or continue their studies in graduate programs in the United States and internationally.
The Department of Music has three distinct degree programs, the Bachelor of Arts in Music, Bachelor of Music in Performance and Bachelor of Music in Education, each with its own specialized focus. Starting your first year, you’ll gain valuable performance experience through a variety of large and small ensembles, workshops with guest artists, apprentice programs, master classes and state and national competitions. You can also specialize your degree to explore and shape your particular musical interests and career paths.
Each degree path stresses the importance of instilling a lifelong commitment to learning, creating music research opportunities that generate new artistic knowledge and insights as well as new perspectives on traditional knowledge. Part of this approach involves an understanding of non-Western frameworks of knowledge as cultivated in Alaskan indigenous musical culture and neighboring regions. Students are trained to engage the public as musical ambassadors in Fairbanks and other communities around Alaska and beyond.
Start your degree in Music at UAF
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