(PRINCETON, NJ) -- The current season of Westminster Conservatory at Nassau will conclude on Thursday, May 16, 2024 with Songs from the Winding Road of Love, a recital performed by Westminster Conservatory faculty members Susan Gaylord, mezzo soprano; and Larissa Korkina, piano.The recital will take place in the Niles Chapel of Nassau Presbyterian Church (61 Nassau Street) in Princeton. The event is open to the public free of charge. Showtime is 12:15pm.
The program includes Ziguenerlieder by Johannes Brahms; arias by Georges Bizet, Leonard Bernstein and Camille Saint-Saëns; and favorites from The Great American Songbook.
Gaylord is a versatile performer and a dedicated voice teacher. She is equally at home on the operatic, oratorio and symphonic stages, as well as in more intimate venues. She began her vocal training at the School of Music of Converse College in Spartanburg, South Carolina before earning her master’s from the Manhattan School of Music. She has performed with the opera companies of Santa Fe, Sarasota, Lake George, the Florida Lyric Opera, the Princeton Festival and the Brevard Music Festival, and as a soloist with regional symphony orchestras nationwide. At the Westminster Conservatory of Music, she teaches private voice lessons, group voice classes and early childhood education classes. She also teaches voice lessons at the Pennington School and the Chapin School, and maintains a thriving private voice studio.
Korkina received a Master of Music Degree from the Belarusian State Academy of Music, where she studied with Valerie Minenkov and Grigory Shershevsky, and later joined the teaching faculty. Since moving to Princeton, New Jersey, in 1990, and has enjoyed a successful career as a solo recitalist, chamber musician and coach/accompanist. Her recent engagements include the prestigious Matinee Musical Club at the Academy of Music of Philadelphia, Music Heritage Series at Westminster, The Friends of Music at Taplin Hall and the Longwood Gardens Concert Series. She is a recipient of the Genia Robinor Pedagogy Award and the Distinguished Pedagogy Award from the Cecilian Music Club.
The May 16th recital is the last event of the 2023-24 season. The 2024-25 season of Westminster Conservatory at Nassau will begin on Thursday, September 19.
This program is made possible in part by the Mercer County Cultural and Heritage Commission through funding from the Mercer County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.
Established in 1970, Westminster Conservatory of Music is the community music school of Rider University. Welcoming young musicians of all ages, skill levels, instrument preferences and economic backgrounds, Westminster Conservatory provides focused one-on-one lessons. In addition, the Conservatory offers a wide range of classes and performing ensembles to engage every student, from the beginner to young maestros, regardless of age. Westminster Conservatory of Music is a nationally recognized institution, maintaining active membership in the National Guild for Community Arts Education.
