Master class on Gershwin and spirituals by Nicole Taylor at the Liszt Academy

Dates and times:

1 February
10 a.m. to 1 p.m.: spirituals
2.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m.: Gershwin songs

Classical singers may also apply for the Gershwin song section.

2 February
10 a.m. to 1 p.m.: spirituals
2.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m.: techniques for singers to handle stage fright and stress

The afternoon activity on the second day is open for active participation to all interested, depending on the capacity of the room. Participants are asked to dress in comfortable clothes and bring a mat.

Place:

Liszt Square, Room X

 Language of the course: English

Students of jazz and classical singing at the Liszt Academy as well as the Bartók Secondary School of Music may apply as active participants. All interested are welcome as passive participants, after previous registration.

Students of the Liszt Academy may receive master course credit points for participating.

Piano accompaniment provided by Márió Rafael of the Liszt Academy.

Jazz singers are to apply with Ms. Ágnes Lakatos (lakatosagnes[at]freemail.hu), classical singers are to apply with Mr. Zoltán Borzi (borzi.zoltan[at]lisztacademy.hu), and passive participants may apply with Ms. Beáta Furka (furka.beata[at]lisztacademy.hu)

Application deadline: 25 January 2016

Originally from Los Angeles, Nicole Taylor, American soprano is a graduate of the Masters program at The Juilliard School in New York. Before being enrolled she completed her BA studies in the Carnegie Mellon School in Pittsburgh.  She is currently continuing her studies with Vladimir Chernov and Olga Sergeyvna Chernov in Paris. Since her Carnegie Hall debut in 2006, Ms. Taylor's extraordinary talent as a vocalist has made her a world-class performer, having toured from Lithuania to Lebanon, Germany to Jerusalem. She has performed numerous roles in many operas, including Le Nozze de Figaro, Les Dialogues de Carmelites, and Porgy & Bess.  Ms. Taylor is a winner of many awards in both international and American competitions, including the Prix Coup de Coeur at the Concours International de Musique de Chambre in Lyon, France and 1st Place at the Leontyne Price Competition Nationals in Atlanta, Georgia.

Following her intensive, though rather short masterclass last year, this time Ms. Taylor will deliver a two-day masterclass with a special focus on the spirituals still, completed with a Gerswhin song module and exercises to manage stage fright.

As a cultural embassador of the US State Department she will make a short tour in Hungary celebrating African-American History Month following her masterclass.

African American spirituals (traditionally called Negro Spirituals), is a musical form indigenous and specific to the religious experience of Africans and their descendants in the United States. An 18th & 19th century precursor to the Gospel music of the 20th century, Negro Spirituals are a result of the interaction between music and religion from Africa and Europe. The religious folk songs draw primarily on biblical texts and are sung in dialect, communicating profound devotion with a surprising simplicity and directness. Their focus on personal freedom makes them universal songs, since everyone on the planet, in one way or another wants to be free. The roots of modern American pop, rock, rhythm & blues, jazz, and gospel music are traced to Spirituals. Their influence has extended to the works of great composers including Antonín Dvořák, Erich Korngold, Alexander Zemlinsky, and George Gershwin.