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Ira Spaulding
Baritone & Choral Conductor
Ira Spaulding, born in New York, studied with Robert Simpson at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey (Bachelor of Music) and also holds a Master of Music in Voice and Choral Conducting from Eastern Kentucky University. He gave numerous recitals in America as well as having taught voice, conducting, vocal pedagogy and literature at several colleges and conducted various vocal ensembles (community oratorio choirs, church choirs, boys choirs and a jazz vocal ensemble).
Since moving to Europe in 1981 his reputation as a choral conductor, soloist and teacher has grown. In 1982 he was invited by Jessye Norman to sing the baritone role in the Robert Wilson production and recording in Paris of "Great Day in the Morning". The following year he sang on the Dutch television show "Jonge Mensen op het Concert Podium" (Young People on the Concert Podium) and made his debut as a concert singer in the Concertgebouw singing the soli in 'Messiah' with the Amsterdam Philharmonisch Orkest. During the '91-'92 season he sang his debut recital in the Kleine Zaal Concertgebouw and conducted for the first time in the Grote Zaal (Haydn: Paukenmesse and Brahms: Schicksalslied with the Amsterdam Promenade Orkest) . As a concert singer, he is often heard in such works as the Passions of J. S. Bach, the requiems of Fauré, Brahms, Mozart and Verdi, the Elias and Paulus of Mendelssohn, but also Porgy and Bess (Concertgebouw 1992) and the musicals Showboat and Oklahoma (with the Rotterdam Philharmonic in 1992). His recitals have been heard recently not only in Holland and America but also in a tour of the Donau-cities Passau, Wien, Bratislava and Budapest.
Ira Spaulding’s collaborations with American Voices have included extensive touring in Latin America, the Middle East, Europe and Asia. Recent projects include conducting and solo appearances in Porgy and Bess in Bolivia, Bangkok and Kazakhstan. He has directed performances of West Side Story in Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan as well as conducted American Choral music projects in Lithuania, Estonia, Bosnia, and numerous others.
Ira Spaulding currently teaches on the faculty of the Amsterdam
Conservatory of Music.
Press Quotes:
“... Ira Spaulding truly captivated the audience with the
wonderful timeless 'Summertime', a song that had bewitched the whole
generation of“old” people in the former Saigon when they were still
young...”
Thanh Nien (Young People) Newspaper
"A charged performance full of accents and dynamic contrasts. There is
so much to enjoy! From exciting crescendos and commanding entrances to clear
diction...."
The Haarlem Daily, Netherlands
Programs Offered:
American Choral Music Projects
Variations on America
Black American Composers
West Side Story
Porgy and Bess
Workshops and Masterclasses in American Song and Choral Repertoire
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John Ferguson Lecture at Carnegie Mellon University
