Soprano Aimé Sposato and pianist Robert Thieme will perform A Classical Afternoon Recital at Ferrum College on Friday, April 13, 2018. Their performance will be held in Vaughn Chapel beginning at 12:15 p.m. The event is open to the community and admission is free to all.
Sposato has performed over 24 operatic roles and over 30 oratorios roles, receiving critical acclaim for performances in major concert halls, recital halls, and cathedrals throughout the world, including the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, the Music Centre in Strathmore, Carnegie Hall in New York City, Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur Cathedrals in Paris, Basilica di San Marco in Venice, the Papal Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican in Rome, St. Stephen’s in Vienna, the National Concert Hall in Budapest, and the Rudolfinum Concert Hall in Prague. Sposato joined the leadership team of Ferrum College as provost in July 2017 and holds a faculty appointment as professor of music, voice.
Thieme served as the director of the West Virginia University Opera Theatre, head of accompanying, and coordinator of vocal studies from 1996-2013. He also served as co-artistic director of the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria. His experience also includes conducting and staging opera, operetta and musical theater productions. Thieme has worked with a number of opera companies, most recently conducting a production of Pagliacci for the Opera Fundación de Panama.
More about Dr. Aimé Sposato: Prior to joining the Ferrum community, Dr. Aimé Sposato served as the associate dean for undergraduate studies and professor of voice at Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, Va. During her 24-year tenure at Shenandoah University, Sposato maintained an active performing career while training young singers in the studio and classroom and was recognized by her peers. She was awarded the Exemplary Teacher of the Year Award.
Sposato received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pittsburgh; a Master of Music degree from Duquesne University, where she received a graduate fellowship in opera; and served as a graduate teaching fellow in opera throughout her Doctoral of Musical Arts degree at West Virginia University. Specializing in music of the 17th and 18th centuries, Dr. Sposato has performed over 24 operatic roles and over 30 oratorios roles in the U.S. and throughout Europe. She refined the art of Baroque Ornamentation for the voice at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
Sposato has received critical acclaim for performances in major concert halls, recital halls, and cathedrals throughout the world, including the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, the Music Centre in Strathmore, Carnegie Hall in New York City, Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur Cathedrals in Paris, Basilica di San Marco in Venice, the Papal Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican in Rome, St. Stephen’s in Vienna, the National Concert Hall in Budapest, and the Rudolfinum Concert Hall in Prague. For some diversion, she was was often heard singing the national anthem for the Pirates, Penguins, and NASCAR.
More about Mr. Robert Thieme: Robert Thieme retired from West Virginia University (WVU) as Professor Emeritus after teaching for 29 years. He served as the director of the WVU Opera Theatre, head of accompanying, and coordinator of vocal studies from 1996-2013. Thieme has served as coach and accompanist for many singers and instrumentalists throughout the United States and Europe. His experience also includes conducting and staging opera, operetta and musical theater productions. He has taught classes in vocal repertoire and vocal diction. In 2008 he retired as co-artistic director of the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria after serving on the faculty for 21 years. Thieme was a frequent keyboardist with the Wheeling Symphony and accompanied all operatic productions of the West Virginia Symphony. He has worked with a number of opera companies and most recently conducted a production of Pagliacci for the Opera Fundación de Panama.
***The Moonshine Heritage Car Show originally scheduled for this weekend has been postponed until a summer date that is yet to be determined.***The Blue Ridge Institute & Museum of Ferrum College, along with the Outlaw Cruisers Car Club of Rocky Mount, will sponsor the third annual Moonshine Heritage Car Show on Sat., April 7, 2018 at the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum on the campus of Ferrum College.
The show will highlight cars that either have a moonshine hauling history or were the type of vehicle that was used for transporting liquor. All cars have to be pre-registered. The show will run from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Afterwards, for those interested, a “run” will made from Ferrum to Twin Creeks Distillery in Henry.
The show is free and open to the public. Local favorite eateries, Bowling’s Place Hotdogs and Daylight Donuts, will be onsite.
For more information, call (540) 365-4412.
Photo credit: Terry Hall Collection
Ferrum College alum Dr. Quincy Quick will be on campus Friday, March 9, to speak as part of the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics Friday Seminar Series. A 1994 graduate of Ferrum College, Quick earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, with a minor in Chemistry, in just three years. Quick went on to earn his Master of Science degree in Biology from Virginia State University and his Ph.D. in Cell/Molecular Biology and Neuroscience from New Mexico State University. Quick currently serves as associate professor of biological sciences at Tennessee State University in Nashville, where he has a research program investigating the role of the spectraplakin protein, MACF1 in glioblastomas that is supported by a SCORE grant from the National Institutes of Health(NIH). His presentation during the Friday seminar will focus on this research.
Quick has served as co-program director of the TSU-NERVE program, a NINDS BP-ENDURE (NIH) funded initiative that seeks to increase the number of students that earn PhDs in neuroscience. Prior to his appointment at Tennessee State University, Quick was the E.E. Just Endowed Professor of Biology at Grambling State University and served as a faculty member in the Department of Natural Sciences at Southern University at New Orleans. His academic appointments were preceded by postdoctoral studies at UMass Medical School, where he studied the role of p53 family members, p63 and p73, in brain tumor development. Additionally, he conducted postdoctoral studies as a Massey Cancer Center postdoctoral fellow at the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, where he investigated radiation induced-senescence arrest and radiation-sensitization of brain tumors, as well as at the University of Toronto (Sunnybrooke Hospital), where he studied the effects of radiation on the central nervous system. Quick has mentored more than 90 students through his participation as a faculty member and/or coordinator for NIH and NSF developmental training grant programs (RISE, MARC, NIMH-COR, HBCU-UP, the Meharry Vanderbilt TSU Cancer Partnership Alliance U54 program).
While at Ferrum College, Quick was a three-year member of the men’s basketball team, starting at point guard all three seasons. Ferrum won Dixie Conference regular season titles in 1992 and 1993. The Panthers also won the 1992 Dixie Conference Tournament and made Ferrum’s first, and still only, appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament, where they advanced to the second round.
The Ferrum College Natural Sciences and Mathematics Seminar Series takes place on Fridays at 1:25 p.m. through the semester. Held in Garber Hall, room 106, the seminar series features alums, outside speakers from a variety of professions, representatives from graduate programs and current Ferrum faculty and students. For more information, contact Professor of Biology and Horticulture Bob Pohlad at bpohlad@ferrum.edu or (540) 365-4367.
President David Johns, BRI Co-director Roddy Moore, Provost Aimé Sposato, and BRI Co-director Vaughan Webb attended the VCA event at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond.
The Ferrum College Blue Ridge Institute & Museum (BRI) was recently named a Bedrock Institution by the Virginia Commission for the Arts (VCA), which celebrated its 50th Anniversary by honoring people and organizations who have inspired and championed Virginia cultural heritage for over 50 years. One of the 50 for 50 Arts Inspiration Awards, the Bedrock Institution category recognized institutions that have been in existence more than ten years, have demonstrated artistic excellence, and are a significant benefit to their community. BRI Co-directors Roddy Moore and Vaughan Webb accepted the award on Wed., Jan. 31, 2018, during an event recognizing award recipients that was held at the Virginia Museum of Fine Art in Richmond.
“It was exciting to be present to see our BRI receive the much-deserved Bedrock Institutions Award,” said Ferrum College President David Johns, who also attended the event. “Although I am new to the area, I have already heard many across the Commonwealth speak about the BRI’s impact on this region. Its historical focus adds a distinctive element to Ferrum College academic programs. Our museum exhibits, festivals, and outreach programs celebrate the culture and peoples of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I’m proud of our staff and their accomplishments.”
Since 1973, the BRI has documented, interpreted, and presented the folkways of Virginia, especially those of the Piedmont and western parts of the state. The Institute’s focus on the people whose artistry reflects longstanding family and community customs is respected nationwide. The Commonwealth of Virginia designated the BRI the official “State Center for Blue Ridge Folklore” in 1984. Together Moore and Webb have over 80 years experience as folklorists in the region and have long worked to bring audiences face-to-face with authentic regional folk arts and the people who carry on those traditions.
“Folk culture is always changing. It is important to continue to offer fresh outlooks on the traditional arts, as they reveal all of us to be tradition-bearers in an ever-evolving society,” said Moore.
The BRI was chosen as one of the 50 for 50 Arts Inspiration Award winners from an original pool of over 350 nominees by a panel of former Commissioners and arts leaders and confirmed by the full VCA Board.
