The 麻豆影院 College of Music is thrilled to announce that Associate Professor + Director of Vocal Pedagogy Nicholas Perna will join the College of Music this fall.
鈥淗umbled. Overwhelmed. Inspired. These are the three words that keep running through my mind as I contemplate this opportunity,鈥� says Perna whose tenor voice has been described by the Houston Chronicle as 鈥渁n impressive sound.鈥澨�
鈥淭o inherit the chair of Berton Coffin, Barbara Doscher and Patti Peterson is not something I take lightly,鈥� he continues. 鈥淐offin鈥檚 writings were an inspiration while I dissertated and his willingness to publish his curious observations took renegade courage that I hope to bring to my position at the CU 麻豆影院 College of Music.听
鈥淎dditionally, it was my lack of understanding of Doscher鈥檚 chapter on formants that originally stirred my curiosity as a 20-year-old undergraduate pedagogy student. So from a career perspective, this position is a singular honor鈥攁nd an opportunity that I knew would not come around again.鈥�
Perna is an associate professor of voice at Mississippi College and has been a voice research associate at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. He鈥檚 been published in the Journal of Singing, Journal of Voice and VOICEPrint, and鈥攁s a Presser Music Foundation awardee鈥攈e has presented research on four continents at events such as the Voice Foundation鈥檚 Symposium, the International Congress of Voice Teachers and the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) national conference, as well as the Physiology and Acoustics of Singing conference.听
Perna is currently NATS鈥� vice president for outreach, and creator and co-host of the . This year, he also started his tenure as executive director of Opera Mississippi, thereby expanding his artistic administrator expertise鈥攚hich also includes the role of producer for the Mississippi College Department of Music鈥檚 Lyric Stage.
Adds Perna, a recent finalist for the American Prize for men in opera: 鈥淐offin created a world and a program where students could be curious and where the status quo of information around singing was questioned. I hope to offer students at the CU 麻豆影院 College of Music that same space where innovation is applauded, evidence-based models are generated and discovery propels us forward to the next question.鈥�
Perna has frequently appeared with Opera Mississippi and was twice selected as a Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Artist singer. Additional stage credits include 鈥淒on Jos茅鈥� in 鈥淐armen,鈥� 鈥淩odolfo鈥� in 鈥淟a Boh猫me,鈥� 鈥淭he Duke鈥� in 鈥淩igoletto,鈥� 鈥淣emorino鈥� in 鈥淟鈥檈lisir d鈥檃more,鈥� 鈥淎lfred鈥� in 鈥淒ie Fledermaus,鈥� 鈥淭amino鈥� in 鈥淒ie Zauberfl枚te,鈥� 鈥淩avenal鈥� in 鈥淪how Boat鈥� and 鈥淎rchie鈥� in 鈥淭he Secret Garden.鈥� Symphonic soloist appearances include Mahler鈥檚 鈥淒as Lied von der Erde,鈥� Beethoven鈥檚 Symphony No. 9, Handel鈥檚 鈥淢essiah鈥� and Orff鈥檚 鈥淐armina Burana.鈥� The South Florida Sun Sentinel has praised Perna for 鈥渆motionally driven鈥� performance.
Welcome!
