NVC Voice Events

FALL WORKSHOP

All-State Choir Audition Preparation with Dr. Lee

Thursday, October 19
10:00am-2:30pm
Palmetto Recital Hall (PCA 107)

NVC Singers will learn how to successfully prepare and execute the Texas Two-Year College Choral Association Region V All-State Choir Audition with Dr. Lee. Selected singers will participate in the Fall Workshop to learn the expectations as they audition, polish their audition pieces, and showcase their abilities for maximum results. NVC singers will prepare to compete with singers from the following schools: Del Mar College, Wharton County Junior College, Coastal Bend College, Laredo Junior College, Palo Alto College, St. Phillips College, San Antonio College, and Victoria College. Guest conductor, Karen Kenaston-French, is a Professor and Director of Choral Activities at the University of Texas Arlington and will lead the TTCCDA All-State Choir during the TMEA annual convention held in San Antonio in February 2024.

Stella Bokyung & Minkyung Lee:
The Art of Italian Opera Arias
& Korean Art Songs

Tuesday, November 14 at 7:00pm
Palmetto Theatre
Free Admission

Despite K-pop and K-dramas going global, classical singers rarely know Korean art songs. NVC Voice faculty, Minkyung Lee, soprano, will invite Stella Bokyung Yoon to perform Duo Recital: The Art of Italian Opera Arias & Korean Art Songs. Gagok, as a Korean art song, is a vocal piece in the style of Western art songs like German Lied or French mélodie. The modern Korean art song developed in 1920 as a new vocal genre. Soprano Stells Bokyung Kim will perform dazzling Korean art songs by Yeonjun Kim, Dunam Choi, and Dongjin Kim. Dr. Minkyung Lee will introduce exquisite solos and duets of new repertoires by Hyogeun Kim. In addition, the two sopranos will collaborate on the program drawing inspiration from the Romantic era’s distinct vocal music composers, Vincenzo Bellini, Gaetano Donizetti, Giacomo Puccini, and more.

Dr. Yoon was recently seen as Valerie/Violetta in Robert Hatten’s Compassion (world premier). She has performed operatic roles including Fiordiligi in Cosi fan Tutte, Blanche de la Force in Dialogues des Carmélites, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel, Mimi in La Bohème, Violetta in La Traviata, Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly with Austin Opera, Bay Area Summer Opera, Barrier Free Opera, Bulgaria Sofia State Symphony Orchestra, Butler Opera Center, Ezio Pinza Council in Italy, Indiana University Opera, Miami Summer Music Festival, Palm Beach Opera, Seoul Symphony Orchestra, and Sonbahar Klasik Müsik Konseri. Stella holds a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Opera Performance from the University of Texas at Austin where she taught as a Graduate Teaching Assistant and is a graduate in Voice Performance from Indiana University at Bloomington. She has been mentored by world-renowned sopranos Virginia Zeani and Carol Vaness. Dr. Yoon is an Assistant Professor at the Southeastern Oklahoma State University.

NVC Concert Choir
& Solo Performances

Sing, My Child: Songs for the People

Wednesday, November 15 at 7:00pm
Palmetto Theatre
Free admission

“Let me make the songs for the people, for the weary, for little children… Our world needs music, pure and strong…girdle the world with peace.” Under Dr. Lee’s baton, NVC Concert Choir will send the powerful message of Peace & Freedom and open the Fall Music Fest with Songs for the People. The joyful text from Sing, My Child celebrates the beauty found around us in everyday life to continue the harmonies of freedom ring. The audience will not only experience given not only hope for the heavenly life to come but also a paradigm for living joyfully amid the ups and downs of life. When All Falls Silent is transmitted to us through humble channels as a beautiful poem by Charles Anthony Silvestri to capture feelings of isolation and longing for voices in songs in which all things are held together, We Are Held. Soulful and with rich gospel tones are well crafted in Into the Light, Deliver Me in Latin. The message of togetherness and support rings true in a powerful arrangement in I Need You to Survive.

"Education Beyond the Stage"
by Shirlyn Davenport-Cordova

Monday, November 20
12:00pm - 1:45pm
Palmetto Recital Hall (PCA 107)

Performer and educator Shirlyn Davenport-Cordova returns to Northwest Vista College and opens with a concert including songs by Giuseppe Verdi, George Handel, Reynaldo Hahn, Ernest Chausson, Henry Duparc, and more. After the performance, Shirlyn will share her personal journey and insights on transitioning from a college career in performing arts to the world of education. Drawing from her personal journey and expertise, Shirlyn provides guidance on navigating challenges, setting realistic expectations, and maximizing opportunities during this critical phase of life.

Shirlyn Davenport-Cordova is an alumna of Northwest Vista College, where she received her Associate of Art in Teaching in 2018. She then went on to receive her Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of Texas at San Antonio School of Music in 2021. During her undergraduate career, Shirlyn competed in National Student Competitions within the National Association of Teachers of Singers (NATS) and most notably received second place in the American Negro Spiritual category, becoming a semi-finalist in 2021. Shirlyn was also an active member of UTSA School of Music Lyric Theatre department, with roles in John Dukes Captain Lovelock (2021), Anthony and Ching’s Speed Dating Tonight (2020), and Marcellina in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro. (2020) She received the Opera Guild of San Antonio fellowship award in 2021. After graduating, Shirlyn received a teaching certification in K-12 music education and began her career in San Antonio, Texas as an Elementary Music Specialist, where she received the Northside first-year teacher grant. She is the director of the Aue Elementary Gator Soundbyte Children’s Choir and directs multiple grade-level performances alongside teaching grades kindergarten through fifth.