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Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Harlan Native Ryland Pope in the Highlands Light Opera
Item: Harlan Daily Enterprise
New opera company to open Thursday
By An Enterprise Staff Reporter
Published:
Monday, July 21, 2008 2:28 AM EDT
The first opera company in the history of central Appalachia will open with a comedy reminiscent of the wry and wacky humor made famous by Monty Python. Gilbert and Sullivan’s famous operetta “The Pirates of Penzance” will be presented by Highlands Light Opera in six performances throughout the region.
“The Pirates of Penzance” is a story of an unlikely romance, and pirates who are scared of their own shadows, policemen who are scared of pirates, a high ranking military officer with plenty of knowledge but no common sense, very pretty but slightly ditzy young maidens, and the requisite old hag who nearly ruins everything. The music is lively and accessible to all audiences.
Several area singers will be featured in this production. The lead role of Frederic will be performed by Daniel Bell, a voice professor at Kentucky Christian University in Grayson.
Jonathan Adkins, a local Kentucky Farm Bureau agent, will appear as Major-General Stanley.
The Pirate King is Ryland Pope, a native of Harlan and student at Georgetown College.
His lieutenant, Samuel, will be played by Cameron Painter, of Morehead. The police sergeant will be David Herrington, an MSU graduate. Ruth, the old hag, will be sung by Sarah Smith, Stamping Ground. The lead role of Mabel is double cast with Amy Painter, a senior vocal performance major at MSU, and Dr. Heather Hunnicutt, voice professor at Georgetown College. The daughters of Major-General Stanley include Jewelie Casteel, West Liberty; Greta Hicks, Prestonsburg; Dr. Alana Scott, MSU faculty; Rachael Fannin, Morehead; and Brittany Lewis, Mount Sterling. The pirates and policemen include Chris Adams, Morehead; Ryan Gilbert, Prestonsburg; Drake Gillaspie, Mount Sterling; and Dr. John Secor, MSU faculty.
Highlands Light Opera was founded by Dr. Roma Prindle, a native of Harlan and MSU associate professor of music. Dr. Prindle has experience with several American opera companies as a singer and director, including Minnesota Opera, Opera Roanoke, Connecticut Opera, Opera Express, Goodspeed Opera and Dorian Opera. She studied and performed with Dr. Vern Sutton, one of this country’s foremost interpreters of the Gilbert and Sullivan genre.
The music director is Elizabeth Huling, the founding director of the Emerging Artists Group and vocal instructor at the Youth Performing Arts High School in Louisville. She has performed with the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players, as well as such luminaries as Hal Prince, William Vendice and Kenneth Schermerhorn.
The rehearsal pianist is Mary Ellen McNeill, a summa cum laude graduate of MSU and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Masters Program. She is presently in great demand as a collaborative pianist throughout the region.
The mission of Highlands Light Opera, according to Dr. Prindle, is to serve the surrounding community, functioning as a regional organization. Recognizing that there is an abundance of musical talent in this part of the country, all efforts will be made to draw the majority of personnel from the central Appalachian region.
All shows will be from the lighter operatic fare and will be performed in English.Many people have contributed in a variety of ways to help establish this company. Everyone involved in Pirates of Penzance is volunteering his or her talents, time and gas money. That includes Prindle, the entire cast and crew, and all musicians.
Several area businesses and individuals have made donations to fund the grass roots effort.“I have been truly overwhelmed by this generosity,” Prindle said. “Many of these singers and musicians could command impressive salaries for this work. Yet they have chosen to donate their services to help get Highlands Light Opera off the ground. This speaks well of our region.”
Once the company has established itself it will qualify for grant funding. Prindle is quite optimistic about the prospects of opera performance in Appalachia attracting major funding. In the meantime all donations are tax-deductible and are welcome.
If you would like to support Highlands Light Opera, please send your donation to Dr. Roma Prindle, 204 Baird Music Hall, Morehead State University, Morehead, KY 40351. Checks may be written to Morehead State University, memo: Highlands Light Opera (or simply HLO). For more information, contact Dr. Prindle at r.prindle@ moreheadstate.edu.
New opera company to open Thursday
By An Enterprise Staff Reporter
Published:
Monday, July 21, 2008 2:28 AM EDT
The first opera company in the history of central Appalachia will open with a comedy reminiscent of the wry and wacky humor made famous by Monty Python. Gilbert and Sullivan’s famous operetta “The Pirates of Penzance” will be presented by Highlands Light Opera in six performances throughout the region.
“The Pirates of Penzance” is a story of an unlikely romance, and pirates who are scared of their own shadows, policemen who are scared of pirates, a high ranking military officer with plenty of knowledge but no common sense, very pretty but slightly ditzy young maidens, and the requisite old hag who nearly ruins everything. The music is lively and accessible to all audiences.
Several area singers will be featured in this production. The lead role of Frederic will be performed by Daniel Bell, a voice professor at Kentucky Christian University in Grayson.
Jonathan Adkins, a local Kentucky Farm Bureau agent, will appear as Major-General Stanley.
The Pirate King is Ryland Pope, a native of Harlan and student at Georgetown College.
His lieutenant, Samuel, will be played by Cameron Painter, of Morehead. The police sergeant will be David Herrington, an MSU graduate. Ruth, the old hag, will be sung by Sarah Smith, Stamping Ground. The lead role of Mabel is double cast with Amy Painter, a senior vocal performance major at MSU, and Dr. Heather Hunnicutt, voice professor at Georgetown College. The daughters of Major-General Stanley include Jewelie Casteel, West Liberty; Greta Hicks, Prestonsburg; Dr. Alana Scott, MSU faculty; Rachael Fannin, Morehead; and Brittany Lewis, Mount Sterling. The pirates and policemen include Chris Adams, Morehead; Ryan Gilbert, Prestonsburg; Drake Gillaspie, Mount Sterling; and Dr. John Secor, MSU faculty.
Highlands Light Opera was founded by Dr. Roma Prindle, a native of Harlan and MSU associate professor of music. Dr. Prindle has experience with several American opera companies as a singer and director, including Minnesota Opera, Opera Roanoke, Connecticut Opera, Opera Express, Goodspeed Opera and Dorian Opera. She studied and performed with Dr. Vern Sutton, one of this country’s foremost interpreters of the Gilbert and Sullivan genre.
The music director is Elizabeth Huling, the founding director of the Emerging Artists Group and vocal instructor at the Youth Performing Arts High School in Louisville. She has performed with the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players, as well as such luminaries as Hal Prince, William Vendice and Kenneth Schermerhorn.
The rehearsal pianist is Mary Ellen McNeill, a summa cum laude graduate of MSU and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Masters Program. She is presently in great demand as a collaborative pianist throughout the region.
The mission of Highlands Light Opera, according to Dr. Prindle, is to serve the surrounding community, functioning as a regional organization. Recognizing that there is an abundance of musical talent in this part of the country, all efforts will be made to draw the majority of personnel from the central Appalachian region.
All shows will be from the lighter operatic fare and will be performed in English.Many people have contributed in a variety of ways to help establish this company. Everyone involved in Pirates of Penzance is volunteering his or her talents, time and gas money. That includes Prindle, the entire cast and crew, and all musicians.
Several area businesses and individuals have made donations to fund the grass roots effort.“I have been truly overwhelmed by this generosity,” Prindle said. “Many of these singers and musicians could command impressive salaries for this work. Yet they have chosen to donate their services to help get Highlands Light Opera off the ground. This speaks well of our region.”
Once the company has established itself it will qualify for grant funding. Prindle is quite optimistic about the prospects of opera performance in Appalachia attracting major funding. In the meantime all donations are tax-deductible and are welcome.
If you would like to support Highlands Light Opera, please send your donation to Dr. Roma Prindle, 204 Baird Music Hall, Morehead State University, Morehead, KY 40351. Checks may be written to Morehead State University, memo: Highlands Light Opera (or simply HLO). For more information, contact Dr. Prindle at r.prindle@ moreheadstate.edu.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Georgetown College Troupe with Ryland Pope
The Harlan Daily Enterprise on Saturday, April 19, 2008, shared the news of my performance with other Georgetown College studens in the new musical theater organization, Lyric Theater Society.
There is a lot of talent at Georgetown College in the music department. To see the whole story, go to: http://www.harlandaily.com/articles/2008/04/19/news/doc480987fc54d07725571386.txt
There is a lot of talent at Georgetown College in the music department. To see the whole story, go to: http://www.harlandaily.com/articles/2008/04/19/news/doc480987fc54d07725571386.txt
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Salzburg
I am studying to become an Opera Singer. Singing is the discipline and joy that defines me. An avid tennis player and sportsman, I find pleasure and delight in many activities. It is singing the lyrics and melodies of master composers, that lifts me to a level of expression that I find no where else.
I hope to build a career through hard work and determination, which will allow me to bring the beauty of these musical masterpieces to people throughout the world.
I am beginning this artistic quest with studies in Salzburg, Austria this summer. My travels in Salzburg will be with the KIIS (Kentucky Institute for International Studies) program. While there, I plan on exploring all that Salzburg has to offer: native food, beer, hikes, festivals, and (cross my fingers) vocal training at the Mozarteum. Preparations for this excursion have already been a great and exciting journey.
A native of Harlan, Kentucky, I grew up singing. An eight year member of the Harlan Boys Choir, my inspiration for music comes from my family. My mother is trained as a classical pianist, and made sure that all her children had the opportunity to learn to play and sing. Both my grandfathers sang in their church choirs, as well as my maternal grandmother, my father, all my uncles, aunts, brother and sisters. Music has always been an integral part of my life.
Through the opportunities made for me by my professors at Georgetown College the last three years, I have grown tremendously, and found my calling: an Opera Singer is what I shall become, and a very good one, at that. My goal is to work with the most renowned and respected vocal teachers of our day, and to sing with all the Major Opera Companies in the world. I am working, one step at a time, toward achieving this goal.
I hope to build a career through hard work and determination, which will allow me to bring the beauty of these musical masterpieces to people throughout the world.
I am beginning this artistic quest with studies in Salzburg, Austria this summer. My travels in Salzburg will be with the KIIS (Kentucky Institute for International Studies) program. While there, I plan on exploring all that Salzburg has to offer: native food, beer, hikes, festivals, and (cross my fingers) vocal training at the Mozarteum. Preparations for this excursion have already been a great and exciting journey.
A native of Harlan, Kentucky, I grew up singing. An eight year member of the Harlan Boys Choir, my inspiration for music comes from my family. My mother is trained as a classical pianist, and made sure that all her children had the opportunity to learn to play and sing. Both my grandfathers sang in their church choirs, as well as my maternal grandmother, my father, all my uncles, aunts, brother and sisters. Music has always been an integral part of my life.
Through the opportunities made for me by my professors at Georgetown College the last three years, I have grown tremendously, and found my calling: an Opera Singer is what I shall become, and a very good one, at that. My goal is to work with the most renowned and respected vocal teachers of our day, and to sing with all the Major Opera Companies in the world. I am working, one step at a time, toward achieving this goal.
My History
Ryland Pope is the son of
Thomas and Clara Pope. He is currently
a Junior majoring in Music
Vocal Performance and is working
on a minor in Business Administration.
Ryland is from Harlan,
Kentucky where he graduated from
Harlan High School, and was a
member of the world renowned
Harlan Boys Choir. While in the
Harlan Boys Choir, Ryland received
a number of solos.
While atGeorgetown College, Ryland
has been a member of the college’s
Concert Choir, Chorale, Governing
Senate, Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity,
and was initiated in the freshman
academic honors fraternity, Alpha
Lambda Delta.
Ryland participated
in last year’s Opera Workshop program
at Georgetown College where
he played the roles of Figaro in The
Marriage of Figaro, Captain Dick in
Naughty Marietta, and was Jekyll
and Hyde in Jekyll and Hyde.
Ryland was honored with the lead role
in Georgetown College’s fall 2007
production of She Loves Me. The
musical was directed by Professor
George McGee and Dr. Heather
Hunnicutt. Ryland also competed
this fall in the NATS (National
Association of Teachers of Singing)
competition where he received third
place overall in his division.
Ryland’s plans after graduating
Georgetown College include attending
Graduate School, where he plans
to further his studies in Vocal Performance
and ultimately make a
career as an opera singer.
Published in Nunnelley Notes January 2008 Georgetown College Department of Music
Thomas and Clara Pope. He is currently
a Junior majoring in Music
Vocal Performance and is working
on a minor in Business Administration.
Ryland is from Harlan,
Kentucky where he graduated from
Harlan High School, and was a
member of the world renowned
Harlan Boys Choir. While in the
Harlan Boys Choir, Ryland received
a number of solos.
While atGeorgetown College, Ryland
has been a member of the college’s
Concert Choir, Chorale, Governing
Senate, Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity,
and was initiated in the freshman
academic honors fraternity, Alpha
Lambda Delta.
Ryland participated
in last year’s Opera Workshop program
at Georgetown College where
he played the roles of Figaro in The
Marriage of Figaro, Captain Dick in
Naughty Marietta, and was Jekyll
and Hyde in Jekyll and Hyde.
Ryland was honored with the lead role
in Georgetown College’s fall 2007
production of She Loves Me. The
musical was directed by Professor
George McGee and Dr. Heather
Hunnicutt. Ryland also competed
this fall in the NATS (National
Association of Teachers of Singing)
competition where he received third
place overall in his division.
Ryland’s plans after graduating
Georgetown College include attending
Graduate School, where he plans
to further his studies in Vocal Performance
and ultimately make a
career as an opera singer.
Published in Nunnelley Notes January 2008 Georgetown College Department of Music
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