Allyn Van Dusen |
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Allyn Van Dusen, mezzo-soprano Allyn Van Dusen, mezzo-soprano, is a versatile performer who has appeared as a soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, the Rochester Oratorio Society, and with many other orchestras and choruses in the Midwest and Northeast. She has given dozens of recitals throughout her career, and enjoys exploring a wide variety of song repertoire, ranging from early music to contemporary art song to classic popular standards. Among her lead operatic roles are Lucretia in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia, Prince Orlovsky in Die Fledermaus, Zia Principessa in Suor Angelica, Ramirio in La Finta Giardiniera, Kirstin in the world premiere of Cary Ratcliff's Beside the Golden Door: The Story of Ellis Island and the title role in his opera Eleni, as well as Elmire in Kirke Mechem's Tartuffe and The Drummer in The Emperor of Atlantis. Ms. Van Dusen has premiered and recorded solo vocal chamber works of Sydney Hodkinson, Cary Ratcliff, and Samuel Adler. A longtime church soloist, she made a recording of sacred solos for Songburst Records in 2000, and followed it with a second solo CD of wedding and love songs in 2001. Ms. Van Dusen enjoys teaching voice privately and has been on the faculty at Hochstein Music School since 1992. She is a founder of the Rochester Vocal Arts Collaborative, which hosts frequent educational workshops and performance opportunities for vocalists in upstate New York. She holds a Master of Music with Performer's Certificate from the Eastman School of Music, where she studied with renowned mezzo-soprano Jan DeGaetani, and she also worked with Phyllis Curtin at Tanglewood. She won the Audience Prize in CyberSing 2002, a biennial global internet voice competition. In addition to musical pursuits, she works in the legal profession and has a blended family of six children and five cats. Singing is an important part of her busy life, because it speaks the language of the heart and soul, which is the most important thing we can share with one another. |