Stephen F. Austin State University

NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS - Stephen F. Austin State University's presentation of Giuseppe Verdi's "Requiem" at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 2, in W.M. Turner Auditorium, will feature four talented soloists, according to Tim King, SFA director of choral activities and director of the choral masterwork.

SFA faculty members Debbie Berry, Bruce Fowler and Scott LaGraff will sing the soprano, tenor and bass solos respectively, and SFA alumna Erin Roth will sing the mezzo-soprano solos.

Berry, instructor of voice at SFA since 1988, is a frequent soloist with the School of Music's choral masterworks concerts and has performed extensively in musical comedies at the Lamplite Theatre.

Her performance credits include solo performances with the Kansas City Philharmonic, Civic Orchestra of Kansas City, Laredo Philharmonic Orchestra, Longview Opera Company, Opera Colorado education outreach, the Central City Singers, and regular performances as a recitalist.

Among her many operatic roles are Violetta in "La Traviata," Donna Anna in "Don Giovanni," Miss Wordsworth in "Albert Herring," Musetta in "La Bohème," Baby Doe in "The Ballad of Baby Doe," Norina in "Don Pasquale," Rosina in "The Barber of Seville," Gilda in "Rigoletto" and the Witch in "Hansel and Gretel."

Fowler, who joined the SFA faculty as an assistant professor in 2006, has sung with La Scala, the Paris Opera, Salzburg Festival, Lyric Opera of Chicago and New York City Opera. In addition, he has performed in Carnegie Hall, Tanglewood, and theaters of Berlin, Barcelona, Rome, Montreal, Vienna and Brussels.

He received international attention as winner of the Plácido Domingo Operalia Competition and has collaborated with world-famous artists such as Riccardo Chailly, Renée Fleming, Jessye Norman, Sherrill Milnes, Marc Minkowski and Vladimir Chernov.

Fowler's recital repertoire encompasses nine languages, and he has had recent performances in Paris, Lyon, Switzerland and Belgium.

LaGraff, assistant professor of voice since 2004, is a veteran of the operatic, concert and recital stage. As a resident artist at Tri-Cities Opera in Binghamton, New York, he performed the title roles in "Don Giovanni" and "Le Nozze di Figaro," as well as The Villains in "Les Contes d'Hoffmann," Reverend Hale in "The Crucible" and Capulet in "Roméo et Juliette," among others.

He has also appeared with the Syracuse, Tulsa, Pensacola, Westchester Hudson and Ithaca opera companies. A selected list of his concert engagements includes performances of Gabriel Fauré's "Requiem" and George Frideric Handel's "Messiah" with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, Anton Bruckner's "Te Deum" at Carnegie Hall with MidAmerica Productions and solo appearances with the Ocean City Pops, the Binghamton Pops, and the Syracuse Oratorio Society. Furthermore, he has sung solo recitals at various venues in the Midwest and South.

Roth, a native of Lufkin, received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from SFA in 2005 and 2007, respectively. While at SFA, she portrayed Cherubino in "The Marriage of Figaro," the Third Lady in "The Magic Flute" and Prince Orlofsky in "Die Fledermaus." She has also performed as a soloist in Handel's "Messiah," Mozart's "Spatzenmesse" and Ramnish's "Magnificat."

She was a finalist in the 2004 National Association of Teachers of Singing competition and a winner of SFA's 2006 Concerto/Aria Competition. In 2007, Roth was named a finalist in the Wednesday Morning Music Club's Fielder Grant competition and the Edward Baird Singer of the Year Competition (Texoma Region).

"We are proud to have these fine soloists singing with our combined choirs and orchestra," King said.

The performance is a joint presentation of the SFA College of Fine Arts and School of Music. W.M. Turner Auditorium is located in the Griffith Fine Arts Building, 2222 Alumni Dr.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and $5 for students. For tickets or more information, please visit www.sfasu.edu/finearts or call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS.